Vale "sync" fails to download style packages in CI

The vale sync command downloads the style packages listed under Packages in .vale.ini. It fails when a package name is misspelled, the release URL is unreachable, or a network/rate limit blocks the download.

What this error means

vale sync prints an error like "could not fetch package" or "no such package" and exits non-zero, leaving styles/ empty so the following vale step also fails.

Vale

Downloading Google
Downloading write-good
Error: failed to sync package 'writegood': 404 Not Found

Common causes

A misspelled or nonexistent package name

The Packages entry must match a real package (for example write-good, Google, Microsoft). A typo yields a 404 during sync.

Network failure or rate limit fetching releases

Packages are fetched over HTTP from GitHub releases; a transient outage or GitHub rate limit fails the sync.

How to fix it

Fix package names and re-sync

Check each name under Packages against the Vale package registry.
Correct typos and pin package versions if you need reproducibility.
Re-run vale sync.

.vale.ini

Packages = Google, write-good, Microsoft

Use the official action, which syncs for you

The errata-ai/vale-action runs sync and applies your config, and can retry transient fetches.

.github/workflows/docs.yml

- uses: errata-ai/vale-action@reviewdog
  with:
    files: docs/

How to prevent it

Validate Packages names against the Vale registry before committing.
Cache styles/ so a transient sync failure does not block every run.
Use the maintained Vale action so sync and retries are handled.