GitHub Actions "No files were found with the provided path" (upload-artifact)

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

actions/upload-artifact globs the provided path at upload time. If the build did not produce those files, or the path is wrong, the glob matches nothing and no artifact is uploaded.

What this error means

The upload-artifact step warns "No files were found with the provided path: <path>. No artifacts will be uploaded." Downstream download steps then fail to find the artifact.

Warning: No files were found with the provided path: dist/. No artifacts will be uploaded.

Common causes

Build output path mismatch

The path in upload-artifact does not match where the build actually wrote files (wrong directory, wrong glob).

A prior step failed silently

The build step that should have produced the files errored or was skipped, so the output directory is empty.

How to fix it

Verify the output path and fail loudly on empty

1. List the directory before uploading to confirm files exist.
2. Fix the path/glob to match the real build output.
3. Set if-no-files-found: error to fail instead of silently skipping.

- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: dist
    path: dist/
    if-no-files-found: error

How to prevent it

• Match the artifact path to the verified build output location.
• Set if-no-files-found: error so an empty upload fails the job.
• Ensure the producing step succeeded before uploading.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation
• Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions