GitHub Actions "Some specified paths were not resolved, unable to cache dependencies"

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

A setup action resolves the package manager's cache directory before saving it. If that directory does not exist or the manager is not installed yet, it reports the path could not be resolved and skips caching.

What this error means

The setup step logs "Some specified paths were not resolved, unable to cache dependencies" and proceeds without caching, so later runs do not reuse the dependency cache.

Warning: Some specified paths were not resolved, unable to cache dependencies.

Common causes

Cache dir does not exist yet

The package manager's global cache directory has not been created at the time the setup action queries it, so the path resolves to nothing.

Wrong or missing package manager

The requested cache type (npm/yarn/pip) does not match an installed manager, so its cache path cannot be located.

How to fix it

Ensure the cache path exists and matches the manager

1. Confirm the cache type matches the package manager you actually use.
2. Install or initialize the manager before the setup step queries it.
3. For custom layouts, use actions/cache directly with an explicit path.

- uses: actions/cache@v4
  with:
    path: ~/.npm
    key: npm-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}

How to prevent it

• Match the setup cache type to the real package manager.
• Let the manager create its cache dir before querying it.
• Fall back to actions/cache with an explicit path for odd layouts.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation
• Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions