bazelbuild/bazel

Help needed in getting bazel build command working on Windows from a mapped network drive

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#28321 opened on Jan 16, 2026

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P3area-Windowsawaiting-user-responsehelp wantedteam-OSS

Description

Can someone provide me guidance on how to invoke bazel from a mapped network drive that holds my bazel workspace?

I have a very simple setup based on the Bazel tutorial examples mentioned here : https://bazel.build/start/cpp This setup along with the examples of bazel build works from my local drive but when I move this setup to the network drive and run bazel build command from the workspace directory the bazel command just stalls. I have observed that when I do this the bazel server doesn't even start.

When I examine the command text file created in output base directory, within the server directory I see that the workspace-directory option to the bazel server command was empty. Has anyone seen this before and has recommendations on how to proceed?

Please let me know if more details are needed.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
javashell
Domain
build system
Issue type
research
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Bazel fundamentalsWindows command line
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
30
Research direction
Investigate why the Bazel server does not start when invoked from a mapped network drive. Check the command text file in the output base directory to see if the workspace directory option is empty. Compare behavior with local drives. Look for known issues in Bazel's GitHub repository related to Windows network paths. Consider testing with different permissions or mapping options.