Windows file permission errors when saving overrides/settings

[winterbourne]

Symptoms

• Saving overrides, settings, or other data frequently fails on Windows
• Error messages are unclear or missing
• Workaround is to manually run attrib -R / attrib +R on files
• Setting file to read-only prevents crashes but blocks saves
• No clear feedback in the Web UI when a save fails

Root Causes

1. pronunciation_store.py:_save_db() uses shutil.move() which doesn't handle Windows file locking
2. No cleanup of stale temp files before writing
3. Weak error reporting—500 errors with no user-facing message

Expected Behavior

• All saves should work without permission errors
• If a save fails, show a clear error message to the user
• No need for manual file permission commands

Impact

• MEDIUM – Setup/troubleshooting friction; experienced users only
• Lost data if save silently fails
• User confusion about why files need manual permission changes

Fix Required

1. Use os.replace() for atomic writes (Windows-compatible)
2. Delete stale temp files before writing
3. Add robust error handling with user-facing messages
4. Log errors for debugging

Part of a larger set of bugs found during testing: see also issue #150, #151, #152.

[denizsafak]

@winterbourne Thanks for reporting the issues, it would be great if you could also submit a few pull requests to fix them 😄 I'm completely open to pull requests, even if it's AI 🙌

[winterbourne]

@winterbourne Thanks for reporting the issues, it would be great if you could also submit a few pull requests to fix them 😄 I'm completely open to pull requests, even if it's AI 🙌

Sorry, this is the limit of my technical ability. :(

I only got as far as I did by using the AI tools. I can test for a workflow, but not much more than that.