cypress-io/cypress · error · SchematicsException

File not found.

Error message

File not found.

What it means

Raised by the readFile() implementation inside createSpec() (cypress-test ng-generate schematic) when tree.read(path) returns a falsy value while the Angular workspaces.readWorkspace API tries to read a file from the virtual tree. readWorkspace walks the workspace and asks the host for files; if a referenced file is absent from the schematic tree, readFile throws this generic SchematicsException.

Solutions

1. Ensure you run the schematic from the Angular workspace root and that angular.json plus all referenced files exist.
2. Run `ng config` or `ng generate component --dry-run` to confirm Angular itself can read the workspace.
3. Restore any missing workspace files from version control before re-running the schematic.
4. Validate that the tree actually contains the file path reported (enable schematic debug logging) and fix the workspace reference.

Example fix

// before: angular.json references a deleted tsconfig, schematic throws 'File not found.'
// after: restore the referenced tsconfig (or remove the dangling reference), then re-run the schematic

// Before triggering the schematic, ensure angular.json and referenced files exist:
import fs from 'fs'

const required = ['./angular.json']
for (const f of required) {
  if (!fs.existsSync(f)) {
    throw new Error(`Missing workspace file required by the schematic: ${f}`)
  }
}

try {
  await runSchematic('cypress-test', opts)
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof SchematicsException && /File not found/.test(e.message)) {
    // a workspace file referenced by angular.json is missing — restore it, then retry
  }
  throw e
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `ng generate @cypress/schematic:cypress-test` when the workspace references a file (commonly angular.json itself or a referenced tsconfig/schematics file) that is not present in the tree — e.g. corrupted workspace, a file deleted between parsing and generation, or a non-standard workspace layout.

Common situations: A workspace with a manually edited angular.json pointing at missing files; running the schematic from the wrong directory so relative paths do not resolve; an Angular CLI version that reads additional config files the workspace does not have; partial git checkout missing workspace files.

Related errors

• Invalid project name
• Invalid project name
• No file name specified. This is required to generate a new…
• angular.json not found
• Could not read ' '.

AI-assisted analysis of cypress-io/cypress@0d85fdc912 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d2246d44d8d1fc9e. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at npm/cypress-schematic/src/schematics/ng-generate/cypress-test/index.ts:17

import {
  Rule, Tree, SchematicsException, chain, mergeWith,
} from '@angular-devkit/schematics'

import { virtualFs, workspaces } from '@angular-devkit/core'

import { Schema } from './schema'

import { createTemplate } from '../../utils'

function createSpec (tree: Tree): workspaces.WorkspaceHost {
  return {
    async readFile (path: string): Promise<string> {
      const data = tree.read(path)

      if (!data) {
        throw new SchematicsException('File not found.')
      }

      return virtualFs.fileBufferToString(data)
    },
    async writeFile (path: string, data: string): Promise<void> {
      return tree.overwrite(path, data)
    },
    async isDirectory (path: string): Promise<boolean> {
      return !tree.exists(path) && tree.getDir(path).subfiles.length > 0
    },
    async isFile (path: string): Promise<boolean> {
      return tree.exists(path)
    },
  }
}

export default function (options: Schema): Rule {
  return async (tree: Tree) => {

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