JosefNemec/Playnite · error · Exception

{directory} not found.

Error message

{directory} not found.

What it means

Thrown as a generic Exception by Emulation.GetExecutable when the directory parameter does not exist on the filesystem. GetExecutable recursively enumerates files in the directory to match against the emulator profile's StartupExecutable regex, so a non-existent directory is a hard precondition failure.

Source

Thrown at source/Playnite/Emulators/Emulation.cs:210

        }

        public static bool IsEmuProfileValid(SDK.Models.Emulator emulator, string profileId)
        {
            if (profileId.StartsWith(SDK.Models.CustomEmulatorProfile.ProfilePrefix))
            {
                return emulator.CustomProfiles?.Any(a => a.Id == profileId) == true;
            }
            else
            {
                return GetProfile(emulator.BuiltInConfigId, profileId) != null;
            }
        }

        public static string GetExecutable(string directory, EmulatorDefinitionProfile profile, bool relative)
        {
            if (!Directory.Exists(directory))
            {
                throw new Exception($"{directory} not found.");
            }

            var fileEnumerator = new SafeFileEnumerator(directory, "*.*", SearchOption.AllDirectories);
            foreach (var file in fileEnumerator)
            {
                if (file.Attributes.HasFlag(FileAttributes.Directory))
                {
                    continue;
                }

                var relativePath = file.FullName.Replace(Path.GetDirectoryName(file.FullName), "").Trim(Path.DirectorySeparatorChar);
                var regex = new Regex(profile.StartupExecutable, RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
                if (regex.IsMatch(relativePath))
                {
                    if (relative)
                    {
                        return relativePath;
                    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 5911f4e964)

Solutions

1. Verify the emulator's InstallDir in Playnite emulator settings points to a valid existing directory.
2. If the emulator is on a removable/network drive, ensure it is connected before launching games.
3. Re-detect the emulator install location using Playnite's emulator configuration wizard.
4. If the emulator is no longer installed, reinstall it or update the InstallDir.
5. Add a Directory.Exists check before calling GetExecutable in custom code.

Example fix

// before — calling GetExecutable without verifying directory
var exe = Emulation.GetExecutable(emulator.InstallDir, profile, true); // throws if dir missing

// after — validate first
if (!Directory.Exists(emulator.InstallDir))
{
    logger.Error($"Emulator install directory not found: {emulator.InstallDir}");
    return null;
}
var exe = Emulation.GetExecutable(emulator.InstallDir, profile, true);

if (!Directory.Exists(emulator.InstallDir))
{
    logger.Error($"Emulator install directory not found: {emulator.InstallDir}");
    return null;
}

static bool IsValidEmulatorDirectory(string directory)
{
    return !directory.IsNullOrEmpty() && Directory.Exists(directory);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Emulation.GetExecutable(directory, profile, relative) where Directory.Exists(directory) is false. The directory parameter is typically emulator.InstallDir, which may be unset, stale, or point to an uninstalled/moved emulator.

Common situations: The emulator was uninstalled but its InstallDir in Playnite still points to the old location. The emulator is on a removable drive or network share that is not currently mounted. The InstallDir was never set correctly (empty string or default placeholder). The emulator was moved to a different folder manually.

Related errors

• Source directory does not exist or could not be found: {sour
• Root directory is not set or does not exist.
• Emulator not found.
• Uknown play action configuration.
• Can't find built-in {builtIn.BuiltInProfileName} emulator pr

AI-assisted analysis of JosefNemec/Playnite@5911f4e964 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/159197a24b3885ae. Report an issue: GitHub.