fix: change_dir with global = false does not change the working directory

[joshw1013]

Issue

With actions.change_dir.global = false, changing the directory manually through nvim-tree fails to change to the working directory for the user. This is caused by Explorer:cd, running :lcd, which is window-scoped and applies to the current window, which is nvim-tree itself. The editing window's cwd is unchanged, so :! and pickers still resolve against the old root.

Fix

My code does lcd on the target window as well, under the case that the current window is nvim-tree.

[alex-courtis]

Issue

With actions.change_dir.global = false, changing the directory manually through nvim-tree fails to change to the working directory for the user. This is caused by Explorer:cd, running :lcd, which is window-scoped and applies to the current window, which is nvim-tree itself. The editing window's cwd is unchanged, so :! and pickers still resolve against the old root.

Fix

My code does lcd on the target window as well, under the case that the current window is nvim-tree.

Thank you for creating this pull request.

This is caused by Explorer:cd, running :lcd, which is window-scoped and applies to the current window, which is nvim-tree itself. The editing window's cwd is unchanged, so :! and pickers still resolve against the old root.

That appears to be working as documented for global = false. Confirming: are you talking about the nvim-tree window or another window with a file buffer?

I am clearly not understanding the nature of the problem. Please provide a detailed test case to demonstrate the problem and a fix e.g.

• open nvim-tree in directory x
• open file y
• focus nvim-tree
• <c-]> on dir z

[joshw1013]

Sure I can explain in more detail. I think the best way is to just show you the video of what is going on from my config. The first one is the current nvim-tree code, and the second is the one with my fix.

You can see that in the first one:

• I open nvim-tree
• use <C-]> to change the directory
• quit nvim-tree
• I open nvim-tree back up again
• The directory change did not stick

If you try to reproduce it and don't see that, it's possible that without these settings

sync_root_with_cwd = true
respect_buf_cwd = true

it won't reset nvim-tree's root, but you should still be able to see that :pwd gives the wrong directory.

The reason this is going on, is that when I type <C-]>, nvim-tree window is currently open, meaning the lcd gets applied to the nvim-tree window, not to the target window, which is the one that opened up nvim-tree, and the one that we care about.

Also, here's my config if it helps you at all:
https://github.com/joshw1013/nvim/blob/main/lua/josh/plugins/nvim-tree.lua

Let me know if it makes sense now / if you need anything else

current.mp4

fixed.mp4

[alex-courtis]

Many thanks for the detailed reproduction.

I understand the problem (directory change does not persist after quitting tree) and the solution (lcd in the buffer window).

Unfortunately I don't think we can make this change:

• Current expected behaviour will change, disrupting users that don't expect it
  • The cwd of the buffer window will change
  • This will break users (myself included) that use, say, lsp diagnostics expecting the project root
• The tree is ephemeral: it is destroyed when you close it and has no "memory"

Is there any other solution you can think of to achieve your goal? I am guessing that change_dir.global is not a solution that meets your workflow.

[gegoune]

As a generic approach we could emit events, allowing users to do what and when they want, keeping nvim-tree itself lean.

[alex-courtis]

As a generic approach we could emit events, allowing users to do what and when they want, keeping nvim-tree itself lean.

We could definitely add a TreeChangeDir event, maybe with a param scope: One of "global" or "local" as per vim.api.keyset.option