[Bug]: showDirectoryPicker returns AbortError with no alternative when a blocklisted folder is selected

[nicole-branagan]

Preflight Checklist

• I have read the Contributing Guidelines for this project.
• I agree to follow the Code of Conduct that this project adheres to.
• I have searched the issue tracker for a bug report that matches the one I want to file, without success.

Electron Version

30.1.0

What operating system are you using?

macOS

Operating System Version

MacOS Sonoma 14.2.1

What arch are you using?

arm64 (including Apple Silicon)

Last Known Working Electron version

N/A

Expected Behavior

If a folder with special permission, like ~/Downloads is selected by showDirectoryPicker, a mechanism should exist to request OS permission and then give access to the folder to the renderer process.

Failing that, it should be possible to distinguish such an AbortError from one that is thrown when the user selects "Cancel"

Actual Behavior

When showDirectoryPicker is used to select a blocklisted folder, an AbortError identical to that shown if the user presses "Cancel" is returned to the app, without any calls to the permission handlers set on the session. This makes it impossible for the app to determine whether the folder is not allowed or whether the user just decided to cancel.

Testcase Gist URL

https://gist.github.com/nicole-branagan/33acff515cfc767333bd10306d17ef17

Additional Information

No response

[codebytere]

@nicole-branagan what happens in Chrome when you do this?

[nicole-branagan]

@codebytere Chrome pops up a dialog that says that the folder can't be opened because it contains system files, giving the option to "Cancel" or "Choose a different folder". At that point getting an AbortError if the user chooses to cancel feels fine because they've been given notice.

[codebytere]

@nicole-branagan thanks! i'll see what i can do :)

[nicole-branagan]

@codebytere What would really be nice would be the ability to have the option to override the blocklist on the app level and allow the directory to be chosen anyway.