`apply` on a single nonexistent target file fails

[BradKnowles]

Describe the bug

I started a discussion over at #4952 and the recommendation was that I should file a bug report.

The gist is, when running chezmoi apply on a single that exists in source, but not yet in target, it returns an error. I noticed then when I was initializing my dotfiles on a new machine. I did init without immediately applying. Then I did one file as a test and it errored, saying the file didn't exist.

To reproduce

I can reproduce this is two ways, first on initial init and apply

chezmoi init BradKnowles/dotfiles
chezmoi apply .config/git/config


chezmoi: .config/git/config: open C:/Users/User/.config/git/config: The system cannot find the path specified.

or by creating a file manually in the source state and trying to apply

chezmoi cd
New-Item -Type File .\dot_config\git\config.tmpl -Force
exit

# Add data to file and save

cd ~
chezmoi apply .config/git/config

chezmoi: .config/git/config: open C:/Users/User/.config/git/config: The system cannot find the path specified.

Expected behavior

I expected the non-existent file to be created.

Output of command with the --verbose flag

$ chezmoi apply .config/git/config --verbose
NUL: --- Text

# text of converted template

chezmoi: .config/git/config: open C:/Users/User/.config/git/config: The system cannot find the path specified.

Output of chezmoi doctor

Details

$ chezmoi doctor

RESULT    CHECK                       MESSAGE
ok        version                     v2.69.4, commit c4c669c9f2f329233a85802014d26fba3c58a4a4, built at 2026-02-11T08:59:37Z, built by goreleaser
warning   latest-version              v2.70.0
ok        os-arch                     windows/amd64
ok        systeminfo                  Microsoft Windows 11 Enterprise Evaluation (10.0.22621 N/A Build 22621)
ok        go-version                  go1.25.7 (gc)
ok        executable                  ~/scoop/apps/chezmoi/current/chezmoi.exe
ok        upgrade-method              replace-executable
ok        config-file                 found ~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.yaml, last modified 2026-03-20T16:31:21-07:00
ok        source-dir                  ~/.local/share/chezmoi is a git working tree (clean)
ok        suspicious-entries          no suspicious entries
ok        working-tree                ~/.local/share/chezmoi is a git working tree (clean)
ok        dest-dir                    ~ is a directory
ok        symlink                     created symlink from .new-name to .old-name
ok        cd-command                  found C:/Program Files/WindowsApps/Microsoft.PowerShell_7.5.5.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe/pwsh.exe
ok        cd-args                     pwsh -NoLogo
ok        diff-command                found ~/scoop/shims/difft.exe
ok        edit-command                found ~/scoop/shims/notepad4.exe
ok        edit-args                   notepad4
ok        git-command                 found ~/scoop/apps/git/current/cmd/git.exe, version 2.53.0
ok        merge-command               found C:/Program Files/Beyond Compare 5/BComp.exe
ok        shell-command               found C:/Windows/system32/cmd.exe
ok        shell-args                  'C:\\Windows\\system32\\cmd.exe'
ok        age-command                 found ~/scoop/shims/age.exe, version 1.3.1
ok        gpg-command                 found ~/scoop/shims/gpg.exe, version 2.4.9
info      pinentry-command            not set
info      1password-command           op not found in $PATH
info      bitwarden-command           bw not found in $PATH
info      bitwarden-secrets-command   bws not found in $PATH
info      dashlane-command            dcli not found in $PATH
info      doppler-command             doppler not found in $PATH
info      gopass-command              gopass not found in $PATH
info      keepassxc-command           keepassxc-cli not found in $PATH
info      keepassxc-db                not set
info      keeper-command              keeper not found in $PATH
info      lastpass-command            lpass not found in $PATH
info      pass-command                pass not found in $PATH
info      passhole-command            ph not found in $PATH
info      protonpass-command          pass-cli not found in $PATH
info      rbw-command                 rbw not found in $PATH
info      vault-command               vault not found in $PATH
info      secret-command              not set

Additional context

I'm running Windows 11 Pro and PowerShell 7.5.4.

$PSVersionTable

Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      7.5.4
PSEdition                      Core
GitCommitId                    7.5.4
OS                             Microsoft Windows 10.0.26200
Platform                       Win32NT
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0…}
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1
WSManStackVersion              3.0