CONFIG_REMOTE_REPO_CACHE_NOT_FOUND_ERR

CONFIG_REMOTE_REPO_CACHE_NOT_FOUND_ERR

Error message

cache directory %q for Google Cloud Storage source %q does not exist and remote cache sync is explicitly disabled via flag `--sync-remote-cache`

What it means

When --sync-remote-cache=false (or default sync is disabled), the GCS source handler expects the remote objects to already exist in a local cache directory. syncDisabledErr is returned by SyncObjects when that cache directory is missing, with an actionable error carrying code CONFIG_REMOTE_REPO_CACHE_NOT_FOUND_ERR and a suggestion to enable remote sync.

Source

Thrown at pkg/skaffold/gcs/gsutil.go:135

	return cacheDir, nil
}

// getPerSourceDir returns the directory used per Google Cloud Storage source. Directory is a hash of the source provided.
func getPerSourceDir(g latest.GoogleCloudStorageInfo) (string, error) {
	inputs := []string{g.Source}
	hasher := sha256.New()
	enc := json.NewEncoder(hasher)
	if err := enc.Encode(inputs); err != nil {
		return "", err
	}

	return base64.URLEncoding.EncodeToString(hasher.Sum(nil))[:32], nil
}

// syncDisabledErr returns error to use when remote sync is turned off by the user and the Google Cloud Storage object doesn't exist inside the cache directory.
func syncDisabledErr(g latest.GoogleCloudStorageInfo, cacheDir string) error {
	msg := fmt.Sprintf("cache directory %q for Google Cloud Storage source %q does not exist and remote cache sync is explicitly disabled via flag `--sync-remote-cache`", cacheDir, g.Source)
	return sErrors.NewError(errors.New(msg),
		&proto.ActionableErr{
			Message: msg,
			ErrCode: proto.StatusCode_CONFIG_REMOTE_REPO_CACHE_NOT_FOUND_ERR,
			Suggestions: []*proto.Suggestion{
				{
					SuggestionCode: proto.SuggestionCode_CONFIG_ENABLE_REMOTE_REPO_SYNC,
					Action:         fmt.Sprintf("Either download the Google Cloud Storage objects manually to %q or set flag `--sync-remote-cache` to `always` or `missing`", cacheDir),
				},
			},
		})
}

View on GitHub (pinned to a1189de023)

Solutions

Remove the --sync-remote-cache=false flag (or set it to true) so Skaffold can download the GCS objects into the cache
Pre-populate the cache directory manually (e.g. gsutil rsync the bucket into the expected cacheDir path)
Check skaffold.yaml/config file for sync-remote-cache: false and remove it
Verify the cacheDir path printed in the error and create/populate it before rerunning

Example fix

// before
skaffold dev --sync-remote-cache=false
// after
skaffold dev  # allow remote cache sync
# or pre-warm:
gsutil -m rsync -r gs://my-bucket/deps /path/to/cacheDir

Defensive patterns

Strategy: fallback

Validate before calling

if _, err := os.Stat(cacheDir); os.IsNotExist(err) {
    // cache missing: either enable remote sync or pre-populate before running
    if remoteSyncDisabled { return fmt.Errorf("pre-warm cache %s or drop --sync-remote-cache=false", cacheDir) }
}

Try / catch

if err := runSkaffold(); err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "does not exist and remote cache sync is explicitly disabled") {
    log.Println("cache missing; retrying with remote sync enabled")
    err = runSkaffold("--sync-remote-cache=true")
}

Prevention

Warm the GCS cache in CI before runs that disable sync
Keep --sync-remote-cache consistent across pipeline stages
Monitor cache directory existence as a pre-flight check

When it happens

Trigger: Running skaffold with a Google Cloud Storage dependency/source where the local cache directory does not exist and the user explicitly disabled remote cache sync via --sync-remote-cache=false (or sync-remote-cache=false in config).

Common situations: CI caching not warmed before the run; cache directory path changed between runs; first run on a fresh machine with sync disabled; accidentally passing --sync-remote-cache=false while relying on GCS sources.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/skaffold@a1189de023 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c2de7d42109aa816. Report an issue: GitHub.