Solving error "Stack overflow in regexp matcher" when starting eshell

Question

I recently solved an irritating error I suddenly started getting upon starting an emacs eshell: the message "Stack overflow in regexp matcher" would appear in the echo area and my eshell session would start without a prompt. The shell would be active but the cursor would appear only on the far left with no sort of path or time decoration that was in my normal prompt.

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited Mar 21 '16 at 16:05

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The solution was to figure out that the error was coming from the eshell startup reading the eshell history file, causing a regexp to puke from something there. The solution is to remove the contents of that file which may be found by entering this command:

(print eshell-history-file-name)

in, e.g., an eshell session or wherever one can evaluate an emacs lisp expression.

edited Mar 21 '16 at 16:05

legoscia

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answered Mar 21 '16 at 16:04

DevonMcC

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Seems like a workaround rather than a solution. Why did that file's content cause Eshell to signal a stack overflow? Please add the details to your *question*. – Stefan Mar 22 '16 at 13:00

Solving error "Stack overflow in regexp matcher" when starting eshell

1 Answers1