GitHub Actions "working-directory ... does not exist"
A step set working-directory to a path that has not been created yet. The runner tries to chdir into it before running the command and fails because the directory is absent.
What this error means
A step with a working-directory key fails before any command runs, reporting that the directory cannot be found.
##[error]An error occurred trying to start process '/usr/bin/bash' with working directory '/home/runner/work/app/app/frontend'. No such file or directoryDiagnose it: print the context before you change anything
Most workflow-expression bugs are not syntax errors, they are an expression reading something that is empty. GitHub resolves a missing property to an empty string instead of failing the run, so a wrong reference looks like a logic bug rather than a mistake. Dump the contexts first and you will usually see the answer immediately.
- name: Dump contexts
run: |
echo '--- github ---' ; echo '${{ toJSON(github) }}'
echo '--- needs ---' ; echo '${{ toJSON(needs) }}'
echo '--- steps ---' ; echo '${{ toJSON(steps) }}'
echo '--- matrix ---' ; echo '${{ toJSON(matrix) }}'
echo '--- inputs ---' ; echo '${{ toJSON(inputs) }}'Check the context is allowed where you used it
Contexts are not available everywhere. The same expression can be valid in a step if and invalid in a job if, which is why an expression that works in one workflow fails when moved.
| Where you wrote it | Contexts available there |
|---|---|
run-name | github, inputs, vars |
concurrency | github, inputs, vars |
Top-level env | github, secrets, inputs, vars |
jobs.<id>.if | github, needs, vars, inputs |
jobs.<id>.steps.if | github, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, vars, steps, inputs |
jobs.<id>.outputs | Full access, including secrets |
Reusable workflow outputs | github, jobs, vars, inputs |
Common causes
Directory not created or not checked out
The path is built by an earlier step or lives in a submodule, but checkout did not bring it in or the build step has not run yet.
Wrong relative path
working-directory is resolved relative to the workspace root; an extra or missing segment points at a nonexistent folder.
How to fix it
Verify the path exists before using it
- List the workspace to confirm the directory name and casing.
- Ensure checkout (and any generator step) runs before the step that sets working-directory.
- Correct the relative path and re-run.
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: ls -la
- name: Build frontend
working-directory: frontend
run: npm ciCatch it before it reaches CI
Every failure in this cluster is statically detectable. actionlint parses workflow expressions, checks context availability against the same rules above, and validates needs references, so these bugs never need to cost you a run.
# one-off
docker run --rm -v "$(pwd):/repo" --workdir /repo rhysd/actionlint:latest -color
# as a job, before anything expensive runs
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: |
bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rhysd/actionlint/main/scripts/download-actionlint.bash)
./actionlint -colorHow to prevent it
- Keep working-directory paths relative to the repo root and matching the actual folder.
- Create generated directories in an earlier step before any step cds into them.