cspell "Issues found" with config not loaded in CI

By Daniel Zoghalchali·Latchkey

cspell loads configuration from cspell.json/cspell.config.yaml discovered from the working directory. If CI runs from another directory, passes a glob that excludes your files, or the config is misnamed, your dictionary and ignores do not apply and issues appear.

What this error means

cspell reports words that your local run accepts, or prints "No files matched", indicating the config or file glob differs between local and CI.

CSpell: Files checked: 0, Issues found: 0 in 0 files.
No files found matching: docs/**/*.md

Common causes

The config file is misnamed or outside the working dir

cspell searches upward from the working directory. A config in a subfolder, or named unexpectedly, is not loaded, so words/ignores are missing.

The glob matched zero files

A quoted glob that the shell mangled, or a path that does not exist in CI, means cspell checks nothing (or the wrong set).

How to fix it

Pass the config and glob explicitly

1. Point cspell at the config with --config.
2. Quote the glob so cspell expands it, not the shell.
3. Run from the repo root so relative paths resolve.

- run: npx cspell --config cspell.json "docs/**/*.md" "*.md"

Fail explicitly when no files match

Add --no-must-find-files only if empty sets are acceptable; otherwise keep the default so a broken glob fails loudly instead of passing silently.

# keep default (errors if no files found) so a bad glob is caught
npx cspell "**/*.md"

How to prevent it

• Name the config cspell.json at the repo root so discovery works.
• Quote globs and run cspell from the repo root in CI.
• Let cspell error on zero matches so a broken glob does not pass.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation