Error while generating ctags file:

[gblock0]

Hi,

After updating I am getting this error. I tried setting the resolve symlinks to 1 and that didn't seem to work. Any idea what's going on?

Error while generating ctags file:
gutentags: File /Users/gregoryblock/.vim/cache/tags/Users-gregoryblock-stuff-tags doesn't appear to be a ctags file. Please delete it and run :GutentagsUpdate!.

That file does exist and when I delete it the first save works fine, but every subsequent one after gives me this error.

Thanks!

[smeyfroi]

Same here. Just updated, deleted tags, gutentags regenerated it, then get same error on saving files. tags is a real file at the project root, not a symlink.

The first line of tags is weird though:

vagrant@precise64:/geome$ head tags
!== /Users/steve/Development/geome/cloudchief/tmp/bundle/ruby/2.1.0/gems/coffee-script-source-1.7.1/lib/coffee_script/coffee-script.js  /^},n.prototype.compilePatternMatch=function(e){var... BLAH BLAH BLAH...
!_TAG_FILE_FORMAT   2   /extended format; --format=1 will not append ;" to lines/
!_TAG_FILE_SORTED   1   /0=unsorted, 1=sorted, 2=foldcase/
... ETC ...

Is Gutentags suddenly prepending into the tags file instead of appending stuff?

[ferranpm]

I have the same problem.

> head tags
!       /home/ferran/Workspace/dotfiles/vim/plugin/mappings.vim /^    noremap ! :T $/;" m
!       /home/ferran/Workspace/dotfiles/vim/plugin/mappings.vim /^    noremap ! :VimuxRunCommand $/;"   m
!_TAG_FILE_FORMAT       2       /extended format; --format=1 will not append ;" to lines/
!_TAG_FILE_SORTED       1       /0=unsorted, 1=sorted, 2=foldcase/

The error comes from gutentags#ctags#generate function in ce4716a. ctags doesn't put tags starting with a bang after those "headers", so checking that might not be a good idea. Maybe the tags file sould be edited after creating/updating it to ensure there are no ! tags?

[ludovicchabant]

Yeah this check was a fix for #37, but it looks like not everybody's tags file starts with !_TAG_. I wonder why? Anybody has an idea?

In the meantime, I made the check optional with 3048bf9 so that will at least solve everyone's problem around here.

[ludovicchabant]

FYI this is my ctags --version on OSX:

Exuberant Ctags 5.8, Copyright (C) 1996-2009 Darren Hiebert
  Compiled: Dec  5 2013, 20:52:19
  Addresses: <dhiebert@users.sourceforge.net>, http://ctags.sourceforge.net
  Optional compiled features: +wildcards, +regex

I also checked and Gutentags is still appending new stuff at the bottom of the tags file.

[smeyfroi]

Same version here:

Exuberant Ctags 5.8, Copyright (C) 1996-2009 Darren Hiebert
  Compiled: Mar 16 2015, 23:48:18
  Addresses: <dhiebert@users.sourceforge.net>, http://ctags.sourceforge.net
  Optional compiled features: +wildcards, +regex

Problem is solved here: thanks for that.

Thanks also @ludovicchabant for the fabulous plugin: good work. :-)

[gblock0]

Same version:

Exuberant Ctags 5.8, Copyright (C) 1996-2009 Darren Hiebert
  Compiled: Mar 16 2015, 23:48:18
  Addresses: <dhiebert@users.sourceforge.net>, http://ctags.sourceforge.net
  Optional compiled features: +wildcards, +regex

Just re-installed gutentags and I am still getting the tag format above the !_TAG_ lines. I even deleted the ! lines above and tried saving again, but it still happens.

I'm on Mac OS X 10.10.5, not sure if that makes a difference.

[ludovicchabant]

Interestingly enough, my version was compiled in 2013, but both of yours were compiled in 2015 (even though they're supposedly v5.8 in all cases). I wonder if the version is misleading, and there is really some difference between the binaries.

Sadly, AFAIK ctags is still hosted on Sourceforge, which is at this point listed as a potential malware infected website by most browser security plugins, and the Brew package for MacOSX is stuck to that 2013 version. Anybody knows where I could get a newer version?

[Coacher]

You can get sources for exuberant-ctags from https://github.com/universal-ctags/ctags/commits/sourceforge

[wikimatze]

I also have problems with GutenUpdate, it gives me a black screen. But the plugin is working without any complains.

Here are my ctags/ctags-exuberant (don't know if I really need both) versions:

wm~/.vim [master] M % ctags-exuberant --version
Exuberant Ctags 5.9~svn20110310, Copyright (C) 1996-2009 Darren Hiebert
  Compiled: Oct  7 2014, 13:52:34
  Addresses: <dhiebert@users.sourceforge.net>, http://ctags.sourceforge.net
  Optional compiled features: +wildcards, +regex
wm~/.vim [master] M % ctags --version          
Universal Ctags Development(5d4c29b), Copyright (C) 2015 Universal Ctags Team
Universal Ctags is derived from Exuberant Ctags.
Exuberant Ctags 5.8, Copyright (C) 1996-2009 Darren Hiebert
  Compiled: Dec 12 2015, 08:13:46
  URL: https://ctags.io/
  Optional compiled features: +wildcards, +regex, +debug, +option-directory, +coproc

I install ctags with the following command: cd /tmp && git clone https://github.com/fishman/ctags.git && cd ctags && autoreconf && ./configure && sudo make && sudo make install maybe this can help.

[ludovicchabant]

Finally got around to fiddle with homebrew and get the new Universal-Ctags (which apparently is where Ctags went after SourceForge? Thanks @Coacher!). I still get the !_TAG lines first (only with now new version numbers and such).

Looks like it's a mystery... either way, I'll leave the tag-check step optional -- I don't care about it personally, it was a feature request from someone else. If other people need it I may either make the check string configurable, or try to figure out exactly what's going on. In the meantime I'll close this since it shouldn't be a problem anymore unless you want that check.

[Coacher]

@ludovicchabant, you are welcome. Universal-ctags is an attempt to modernize the original exuberant-ctags. Among other things they have 'sourceforge' branch where the original code is preserved. Last time I checked universal-ctags team was working towards their first release.