FuelLabs/sway · error · anyhow::Error

failed to find a template `{}` in {}

Error message

failed to find a template `{}` in {}

What it means

forc template first fetches the template repo, then for a named template calls manifest::find_dir_within(&repo_path, template_name) to locate the directory; None (no directory with that name anywhere under the fetched repo) becomes "failed to find a template `<name>` in <url>".

Source

Thrown at forc/src/ops/forc_template.rs:50

    let fetch_id = source::fetch_id(current_dir, fetch_ts);

    println_action_green("Resolving", &format!("the HEAD of {}", source.repo));
    let git_source = source::git::pin(fetch_id, &local_repo_name, source)?;

    let repo_path = source::git::commit_path(
        &local_repo_name,
        &git_source.source.repo,
        &git_source.commit_hash,
    );
    if !repo_path.exists() {
        println_action_green("Fetching", git_source.to_string().as_str());
        source::git::fetch(fetch_id, &local_repo_name, &git_source)?;
    }

    let from_path = match command.template_name {
        Some(ref template_name) => manifest::find_dir_within(&repo_path, template_name)
            .ok_or_else(|| {
                anyhow!(
                    "failed to find a template `{}` in {}",
                    template_name,
                    command.url
                )
            })?,
        None => {
            let manifest_path = repo_path.join(constants::MANIFEST_FILE_NAME);
            if PackageManifest::from_file(manifest_path).is_err() {
                anyhow::bail!("failed to find a template in {}", command.url);
            }
            repo_path
        }
    };

    // Create the target dir
    let target_dir = current_dir.join(&command.project_name);

    println_action_green(

View on GitHub (pinned to 47e5e902fa)

Solutions

1. List the fetched repo's directories (the cached checkout under the forc template cache) or browse the repo to get the exact template directory name
2. Check spelling and case — find_dir_within matches the directory name exactly
3. If the template should be at the repo root with no subdirectory, omit --template-name

Example fix

# before
forc template https://github.com/example/templates myapp --template-name counterr

# after
forc template https://github.com/example/templates myapp --template-name counter

// Before running forc template, verify the template dir exists in a local clone.
let template_dir = format!("{clone_dir}/{template_name}");
if !std::path::Path::new(&template_dir).is_dir() {
    anyhow::bail!("template '{template_name}' not found under {clone_dir}; check exact name/case");
}

fn valid_template_name(name: &str) -> bool {
    !name.is_empty() && !name.contains('/') && !name.contains("..")
}

match run_forc_template(url, project, Some(&name)) {
    Ok(()) => Ok(()),
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("failed to find a template") => {
        anyhow::bail!("list available templates in {url} and retry with the exact directory name")
    }
    Err(e) => Err(e),
}

When it happens

Trigger: `forc template <url> <project-name> --template-name <name>` where <name> does not match any directory in the repository (typo, wrong case, template removed/renamed upstream).

Common situations: Templates listed in a README drifting from the repo contents, renaming of templates between template-repo versions, or users guessing template names for a multi-template repo.

Related errors

• missing path for new command
• failed to find a template in {}
• failed to read {}: {}
• invalid 'source' entry for package {} lock: {:?}
• failed to parse dependency "{}": {}

AI-assisted analysis of FuelLabs/sway@47e5e902fa (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3c0f56de6012e90e. Report an issue: GitHub.