helm-gtags frequently fails to open files in Tramp

[tuhdo]

When I use helm-gtags-dwim to jump to tags in another file, this error usually occurs:

byte-code: Invalid base64 data

[syohex]

Hmm, the message may be generated at either following code.

http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/tree/src/fns.c#n3399
http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/tree/src/fns.c#n3451

[floli]

I dare to attach to that bug report. Since a couple of days I get these message very frequently. Not only when opening the files using helm-gtags-dwim but also when just using find-file (with tramp). Are there any new insights on that?

[enriquefernandez]

I get this al the time too.
Restarting emacs seems to fix it, but it's very annoying...

[syohex]

How can I reproduce ? Emacs version ?

[enriquefernandez]

I'm using 24.4.1 on OSX.
Hard to say how to reproduce, unfortunately, as it's not a consistent problem... What it normally happens is that I'm working on files in an Ubuntu VM from emacs on OSX using tramp mode during hours. Everything works well, but then at some point I try to open a file that I hadn't opened before during the session from the VM using tramp and I get the infamous base64 error. I get the error over and over again trying to open the file.

Normally, restarting emacs solves the problem (I can open the same file using tramp).

I use zsh in both OSX and the Ubuntu VM.

Thanks!

[dholm]

I'm having the same problem on both Ubuntu 14.04 and OSX 10.10 using GNU/Emacs 24.5.1 (I also had it on 24.4.1).

So far I have been unsuccessful in tracking down the cause. The error doesn't generate a backtrace when I enable debug-on-error, possibly due to Tramp suppressing it, and Tramp traces contain very little useful information apart from the base64 error.

I have yet to identify how to reproduce it. Sometimes I can work for a long time (days?) without it occurring and sometimes it happens after a few hours into my Emacs session.

One thing I have noticed which may or may not be relevant, sometimes I end up having a lot of gtags processes running on the server I connect to. I typically work inside a single repo so I wouldn't expect there to be more than one instance really.