Argo CD "app path does not exist" in CI

By Daniel Zoghalchali·Latchkey

Argo CD looks for manifests at spec.source.path inside the repo at targetRevision. If that directory does not exist at that revision, generation fails with app path does not exist before any tool runs.

What this error means

The Application shows a ComparisonError containing "app path does not exist: <path>" and cannot generate manifests.

rpc error: code = Unknown desc = Manifest generation error (cached):
app path does not exist: overlays/prod

Common causes

The path is wrong or was moved

A typo in spec.source.path, or a directory renamed in the repo, means the configured path is absent.

The path exists only on another revision

The directory is present on a different branch or tag than the one targetRevision points to.

How to fix it

Point the source at the real path

1. Confirm the directory exists at the target revision in the repo.
2. Correct spec.source.path (and targetRevision if needed).
3. Hard-refresh so the app re-reads the tree.

git ls-tree -r --name-only main | grep overlays/prod

Align path and revision

Make sure the path and targetRevision refer to the same commit that actually contains the manifests.

spec:
  source:
    path: overlays/prod
    targetRevision: main

How to prevent it

• Validate that source paths exist at the target revision in CI.
• Update the Application when directories move in the repo.
• Keep path and targetRevision consistent with the manifests they name.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• Terraform documentation
• GitHub Actions documentation