# OpenFeature PROVIDER_NOT_READY / provider not ready in CI

> Fix OpenFeature "provider not ready" (PROVIDER_NOT_READY) in CI - flags are evaluated before setProviderAndWait resolves, so the SDK returns defaults with error code PROVIDER_NOT_READY.

Source: https://latchkey.dev/learn/ci-integrations/openfeature-provider-not-ready-in-ci  
Updated: 2026-06-30

An OpenFeature client evaluated a flag before its provider finished initializing. OpenFeature returns the default value with reason ERROR and errorCode PROVIDER_NOT_READY. In CI this happens when evaluation races provider start-up, producing flaky results.

## Diagnose it: did the report reach the service?

Coverage and quality integrations fail in two distinct places: the report was never produced, or it was produced and the upload was rejected. Establish which before touching tokens.

```Terminal
# 1. does the report exist and is it non-empty?
ls -la coverage/ && head -5 coverage/lcov.info

# 2. does it reference paths the service can map to the repo?
grep "^SF:" coverage/lcov.info | head -5

# 3. did the upload actually succeed, or just not fail the step?
# most uploaders exit 0 on a rejected upload unless told otherwise
```

> Absolute paths in an lcov report break file mapping on the service side, so coverage appears as zero even though the upload succeeded. Generate reports with paths relative to the repository root.

## FAQ

### What causes OpenFeature PROVIDER_NOT_READY / provider not ready in CI?

There are 2 common causes: evaluation runs before the provider initializes and the provider failed to initialize and stayed not ready. setProvider returns immediately while initialization is asynchronous; evaluating before it completes yields PROVIDER_NOT_READY.

### How do I fix OpenFeature PROVIDER_NOT_READY / provider not ready in CI?

There are 2 fixes depending on which cause you have: await setproviderandwait before evaluating and handle provider events for readiness. Work through them in order, since the first is the most common.

### What does OpenFeature PROVIDER_NOT_READY / provider not ready in CI actually mean?

Flag evaluations return the default with errorCode PROVIDER_NOT_READY, or the SDK logs that the provider is not ready.

### How do I stop OpenFeature PROVIDER_NOT_READY / provider not ready in CI happening again?

Use setProviderAndWait so providers are READY before evaluation. The prevention section lists 3 changes that keep it from recurring.

---

Latchkey runs CI/CD that repairs its own failures. Agent entry points: https://latchkey.dev/agent.txt, https://latchkey.dev/openapi.json, https://latchkey.dev/llms.txt