can not create rules. can not add mcp server, can not add ANYTHING!

[patarok]

Before submitting your bug report

• I've tried using the "Ask AI" feature on the Continue docs site to see if the docs have an answer
• I believe this is a bug. I'll try to join the Continue Discord for questions
• I'm not able to find an open issue that reports the same bug
• I've seen the troubleshooting guide on the Continue Docs

Relevant environment info

- OS: Windows 11
- Continue version: 1.0.11
- IDE version: WebStorm 2025.1.2
- Model: that should not matter but GPT-5
- config:
  
  name: Local Agent
version: 1.0.0
schema: v1
models:
  - name: GPT-4.1
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-4.1
    apiKey: sk-proj-

  - name: GPT-4.1 Mini
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-4.1-mini
    apiKey: sk-proj-

  - name: GPT-4o
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-4o
    apiKey: sk-proj-

  - name: GPT-4o Mini
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-4o-mini
    apiKey: sk-proj-

  - name: GPT-5
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-5
    apiKey: sk-proj-

  - name: GPT-5 Mini
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-5-mini
    apiKey: sk-proj-

  - name: GPT-5 Nano
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-5-nano
    apiKey: sk-proj-
  
  OR link to agent in Continue hub:

Description

I click on the plus icon next to anything... like when in settings on 'Rules'.
Then:

Error handling message of type writeFile: java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "com.intellij.openapi.vfs.VirtualFile.createChildData(Object, String)" because "this.$vfsDirectory" is null

appears as an error on the lower right of my WebStorm window

To reproduce

No response

Log output

Error handling message of type writeFile: java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "com.intellij.openapi.vfs.VirtualFile.createChildData(Object, String)" because "this.$vfsDirectory" is null

[exigow]

Hey @patarok 👋, sorry that you ran into this issue. I looked into what might be going on, and for some reason one of our internal commands (writeFile) can't create missing directories in the given path. I introduced a fix that doesn't fully resolve the problem, but it handles this situation more gracefully and will help us better debug the cause.

If your environment setup is in any way specific (e.g. you're using WSL / connecting via JetBrains Gateway / have a remote environment), please let me know - it will help us better understand the cause.

[bdougie]

PR #7833 added better error logging for this. Closing for now, but feel free to re open if needed.

[patarok]

@exigow not sure if i should reopen the issue but the problem at hand might still be the same at its very core.... the plugin just lacks rights to run commands, write or even read some times...

I know it maybe is better in other IDEs but ... jetbrains suite is just a marvel when it comes to usability compared to others, despite being written in JAVA. :/

.... the last time i tried it ... the window/pane did freeze while generating an answer and there was no chance to revive it .. other than a restart. And after that restart, one can see the actual anser (generated response) was indeed received, if you open the history again.
but a mere coder 'in his everyday-wheel' that is not so much into 'exploring things' would not think about that it got generated. You'd assume worst case .. and drop the plugin, which is a shame since its reported it works quite well on other editor.