Turborepo "No tasks were executed" in CI

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

Turbo found nothing to run. A --filter matched no packages, or no package defines the requested script, so the pipeline completes without doing work.

What this error means

turbo run finishes immediately reporting "No tasks were executed as part of this run", often with a green exit code that masks that nothing built.

turbo

- Packages in scope:
- Running build in 0 packages
No tasks were executed as part of this run.

Diagnose it: task graph and workspace resolution

Terminal

npx turbo run build --dry-run=json | head -40
npx nx graph --file=graph.json
pnpm -r list --depth -1 2>/dev/null || yarn workspaces list

Common causes

Filter matched no packages

A --filter expression (by name, path, or --filter=...[ref]) selected an empty set.

No package defines the script

The task is declared but no package.json has the matching script, so there is nothing to execute.

Shallow clone breaks affected filter

A --filter using a git ref finds no changed packages because history is missing.

How to fix it

Check what the filter selects

Dry-run to see the package and task list before executing.

Terminal

turbo run build --filter='./apps/*' --dry-run

Add scripts or fix the filter

Ensure target packages define the script.
Correct the filter expression so it matches real packages.

How to prevent it

Use --dry-run to confirm a filter selects the packages you expect, and treat an empty run as a signal, not success.

Frequently asked questions

What causes Turborepo "No tasks were executed" in CI?

There are 3 common causes: filter matched no packages, no package defines the script, and shallow clone breaks affected filter. A --filter expression (by name, path, or --filter=...[ref]) selected an empty set.

How do I fix Turborepo "No tasks were executed" in CI?

There are 2 fixes depending on which cause you have: check what the filter selects and add scripts or fix the filter. Work through them in order, since the first is the most common.

What does Turborepo "No tasks were executed" in CI actually mean?