google-gemini/gemini-cli

"Failed to persist policy" error despite correct permissions

Open

#19919 opened on Feb 22, 2026

View on GitHub
 (15 comments) (0 reactions) (1 assignee)TypeScript (103,992 stars) (13,657 forks)batch import
area/coreeffort/smallhelp wantedkind/bugpriority/p2status/bot-triagedtype/bug

Description

What happened?

I am receiving the error "✕ Failed to persist policy for run_shell_command" when selecting "allow for all future sessions". I have verified the following: 1. Permissions: The directory ~/.gemini/policies is writable by my user. 2. Configuration: settings.json has "enablePermanentToolApproval": true. 3. File State: The auto-saved.toml file exists, is valid TOML, and is not locked by other processes. This appears to be an internal issue with the CLI's persistence logic or sandboxing constraints preventing the write operation. System: Linux (aarch64)

[ACTION REQUIRED] 📎 PLEASE ATTACH THE EXPORTED CHAT HISTORY JSON FILE TO THIS ISSUE IF YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE SHARING IT.

What did you expect to happen?

preference stored

Client information

  • CLI Version: 0.29.5
  • Git Commit: 2ef872e73
  • Session ID: 824fa46c-018a-4ba6-b765-1f305fd73dc6
  • Operating System: linux v22.21.1
  • Sandbox Environment: no sandbox
  • Model Version: gemini-3-pro-preview
  • Auth Type: oauth-personal
  • Memory Usage: 1.04 GB
  • Terminal Name: Unknown
  • Terminal Background: #0c0c0c
  • Kitty Keyboard Protocol: Unsupported

Login information

No response

Anything else we need to know?

No response

Contributor guide

Tech stack
typescriptnodejs
Domain
cli
Issue type
bug
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.
half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
blocked
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
basic understanding of CLI toolsfamiliarity with TypeScriptknowledge of file I/O in Node.js
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
30
Research direction
Investigate the policy persistence logic in the gemini cli codebase, likely in modules related to tool approval and configuration. Look for the function that saves policies (e.g., persistPolicy) and trace the error message 'Failed to persist policy for run shell command'. Check the file handling of ~/.gemini/policies directory and the auto saved.toml file. Consider sandboxing constraints if any. Review the 15 comments in the issue for additional context and potential debugging steps.