Jguer/yay · error

cannot find PKGBUILD and .SRCINFO in directory

Error message

cannot find PKGBUILD and .SRCINFO in directory

What it means

Sentinel error (ErrNoBuildFiles) meaning a directory passed as a local build target contains neither a readable .SRCINFO nor a PKGBUILD that could be used to generate one. srcinfoExists stats both files; when both are absent the wrapped error names the offending directory. It fires before any build attempt, purely on filesystem presence checks.

Solutions

1. cd into the directory containing the PKGBUILD and re-run 'yay -B .'
2. Clone or download the PKGBUILD from the AUR or ABS into the target directory
3. Verify the directory path was typed correctly

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at local_install.go:25 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of Jguer/yay@328f4b4939 (2026-09-07). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ac323b4f35e051c9. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at local_install.go:25

	"errors"
	"fmt"
	"os"
	"path/filepath"
	"strings"

	"github.com/Jguer/yay/v13/pkg/db"
	"github.com/Jguer/yay/v13/pkg/dep"
	"github.com/Jguer/yay/v13/pkg/runtime"
	"github.com/Jguer/yay/v13/pkg/settings"
	"github.com/Jguer/yay/v13/pkg/settings/exe"
	"github.com/Jguer/yay/v13/pkg/settings/parser"
	"github.com/Jguer/yay/v13/pkg/sync"

	gosrc "github.com/Morganamilo/go-srcinfo"
	"github.com/leonelquinteros/gotext"
)

var ErrNoBuildFiles = errors.New(gotext.Get("cannot find PKGBUILD and .SRCINFO in directory"))

func srcinfoExists(ctx context.Context,
	cmdBuilder exe.ICmdBuilder, targetDir string,
) error {
	srcInfoDir := filepath.Join(targetDir, ".SRCINFO")
	pkgbuildDir := filepath.Join(targetDir, "PKGBUILD")
	if _, err := os.Stat(srcInfoDir); err == nil {
		if _, err := os.Stat(pkgbuildDir); err == nil {
			return nil
		}
	}

	if _, err := os.Stat(pkgbuildDir); err == nil {
		// run makepkg to generate .SRCINFO
		srcinfo, stderr, err := cmdBuilder.Capture(cmdBuilder.BuildMakepkgCmd(ctx, targetDir, "--printsrcinfo"))
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unable to generate .SRCINFO: %w - %s", err, stderr)
		}

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