facebook/docusaurus · error · Error

Directory already exists at path=${dest}!

Error message

Directory already exists at path=${dest}!

What it means

Thrown by getSiteName() in create-docusaurus when a non-empty site name (anything other than '.') is supplied and the resolved destination directory already exists on disk. The validateSiteName helper returns this message as a string, and when a name is provided via the CLI (reqName) the string is turned into a thrown Error. Docusaurus refuses to overwrite an existing project directory to avoid clobbering user files.

Source

Thrown at packages/create-docusaurus/src/index.ts:266

  rootDir: string,
): Promise<string> {
  async function validateSiteName(siteName: string) {
    if (!siteName) {
      return 'A website name is required.';
    }
    const dest = path.resolve(rootDir, siteName);
    if (siteName === '.' && (await fs.readdir(dest)).length > 0) {
      return logger.interpolate`Directory not empty at path=${dest}!`;
    }
    if (siteName !== '.' && (await pathExists(dest))) {
      return logger.interpolate`Directory already exists at path=${dest}!`;
    }
    return true;
  }
  if (reqName) {
    const res = await validateSiteName(reqName);
    if (typeof res === 'string') {
      throw new Error(res);
    }
    return reqName;
  }
  const {siteName} = (await prompts(
    {
      type: 'text',
      name: 'siteName',
      message: 'What should we name this site?',
      initial: 'website',
      validate: validateSiteName,
    },
    {
      onCancel() {
        logger.error('A website name is required.');
        process.exit(1);
      },
    },
  )) as {siteName: string};

View on GitHub (pinned to 3f483e80e3)

Solutions

1. Pick a different site name that does not yet exist.
2. Delete or move the existing directory, then re-run: rm -rf existing-dir.
3. Use '.' as the name to scaffold into the current directory, but only if that directory is empty (a separate 'Directory not empty' guard applies).

Example fix

# before
npx create-docusaurus website   # website/ already exists
# after (option A)
rm -rf website && npx create-docusaurus website
# after (option B)
npx create-docusaurus my-new-site

import path from 'node:path';
import {pathExists} from './utils.js';
async function assertDestFree(rootDir: string, siteName: string) {
  if (siteName === '.') return;
  const dest = path.resolve(rootDir, siteName);
  if (await pathExists(dest)) {
    throw new Error(`Directory already exists at path=${dest}!`);
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `npx create-docusaurus existing-dir` where existing-dir already exists; passing a name that resolves to an existing folder under rootDir; re-running init in a directory where a previous partial run left the folder behind.

Common situations: Re-running create-docusaurus after a failed earlier attempt left the target folder; choosing a common name like 'website' or 'docs' that collides with an existing folder; CI re-running on a checked-out workspace that already contains the folder.

Related errors

• Invalid package manager choice ${packageManager}. Must be on
• Invalid command: ${command}
• Copying Docusaurus template name=${source.template.name} fai
• Copying local template path=${source.path} failed!
• Failed to update package.json.

AI-assisted analysis of facebook/docusaurus@3f483e80e3 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/528b1f73cdc3f04d. Report an issue: GitHub.