GitHub Actions setup-node cache "Some specified paths were not resolved"

By Daniel Zoghalchali·Latchkey

actions/setup-node looks for a package manager lockfile to key and locate the dependency cache; when it cannot find one at the expected path, it warns that paths were not resolved and skips caching.

What this error means

setup-node logs "Some specified paths were not resolved, unable to cache dependencies." Dependency installs then run uncached on every run.

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

Common causes

Lockfile missing or in a subdirectory

setup-node expects package-lock.json/yarn.lock at the default location, but it is absent or nested where the action does not look.

cache-dependency-path not set for monorepos

In a monorepo the lockfile lives elsewhere and cache-dependency-path was not provided.

How to fix it

Point setup-node at the lockfile

1. Commit the lockfile so it exists in CI.
2. Set cache and cache-dependency-path to the lockfile location.
3. For monorepos, glob all relevant lockfiles.

- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
  with:
    node-version: 20
    cache: npm
    cache-dependency-path: packages/*/package-lock.json

How to prevent it

• Keep the lockfile committed and discoverable.
• Set cache-dependency-path in monorepos.
• Confirm setup-node reports a resolved cache path.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation
• Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions