GitHub Actions "No files were found" - actions/upload-artifact v4 Failures

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

actions/upload-artifact failed because the path matched no files, the working directory was wrong, or (in v4) an artifact with that name already exists in the run.

What this error means

The upload step warns "No files were found with the provided path" and produces an empty or missing artifact, or in v4 fails because the artifact name was already uploaded in the same run.

Warning: No files were found with the provided path: dist/.
No artifacts will be uploaded.
# or (v4)
Error: Failed to CreateArtifact: an artifact with this name already exists

Common causes

Path matches no files

The path is wrong relative to the working directory, the build did not produce output, or a prior step ran in a different directory.

v4 immutable, unique-name artifacts

upload-artifact@v4 creates immutable artifacts and rejects a duplicate name within the same run, unlike v3 which merged uploads.

How to fix it

Point at the real output path

Confirm the build emitted files and use a path relative to the job working directory.

- run: npm run build   # produces ./dist
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: site
    path: dist
    if-no-files-found: error

Give each v4 artifact a unique name

1. Suffix names with the matrix value, for example name: logs-${{ matrix.os }}.
2. Do not upload the same artifact name twice in one run under v4.
3. Set if-no-files-found: error so an empty match fails loudly instead of silently.

How to prevent it

• Verify the build output path before the upload step.
• Use unique artifact names per matrix leg under v4.
• Set if-no-files-found: error to catch empty uploads early.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation
• Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions