google-gemini/gemini-cli · critical · FileNotFoundError

Required judge.md prompt file missing from {PROMPT_FILE.pare

Error message

Required judge.md prompt file missing from {PROMPT_FILE.parent}

What it means

This FileNotFoundError is raised at module import time in judge.py when the sibling file judge.md is not found next to judge.py. Because the check and file read happen at top-level (outside any function), importing judge.py itself triggers the error, which means any module importing evaluate_categorization or judge_workable_spec fails to load. The file holds the LLM-as-a-judge system prompt.

Source

Thrown at tools/caretaker-agent/evals/triage/judge.py:21

Provides evaluation functions:
1. evaluate_categorization: Exact match string evaluation for quality & effort.
2. judge_workable_spec: LLM-as-a-Judge grading for Workable Specs matching Golden Spec fidelity (0-2 Rubric Scale) via Gemini API.
"""

import os
import json
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Any, Dict
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

from google import genai

PROMPT_FILE = Path(__file__).parent / "judge.md"
if not PROMPT_FILE.exists():
    raise FileNotFoundError(f"Required judge.md prompt file missing from {PROMPT_FILE.parent}")

with open(PROMPT_FILE, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
    JUDGE_PROMPT = f.read()

_CLIENT: Any = None


def _get_client() -> genai.Client:
    """Returns thread-safe cached Gemini API client instance."""
    global _CLIENT
    if _CLIENT is None:
        api_key = os.environ.get("GEMINI_API_KEY")
        _CLIENT = genai.Client(api_key=api_key)
    return _CLIENT


def evaluate_categorization(predicted: Dict[str, Any], expected: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
    """

View on GitHub (pinned to 5024443c72)

Solutions

Confirm judge.md exists at evals/triage/judge.md alongside judge.py.
If packaging, ensure .md files are included: add 'include *.md' to MANIFEST.in or package_data={'': ['*.md']} in setup.
Check .dockerignore does not exclude *.md from the build context.
On case-sensitive filesystems, verify exact casing 'judge.md'.
Run: ls evals/triage/judge.md to confirm presence before importing.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

from pathlib import Path

PROMPT_FILE = Path(__file__).parent / 'judge.md'

def judge_prompt_available() -> bool:
    return PROMPT_FILE.exists()

# In CI: assert judge_prompt_available() before importing evals.triage.judge.

Prevention

Ensure package_data / MANIFEST.in includes *.md so judge.md ships in distributions.
Audit .dockerignore to confirm .md files enter the build context.
Add a CI assertion that judge.md exists in evals/triage/.
Keep prompt files under version control and reviewed with code changes.

When it happens

Trigger: Any import of evals.triage.judge (directly or via runner.py) when judge.md is missing from the same directory. The check runs once at import, so the exception propagates as an ImportError/ModuleNotFoundError wrapper or a raw FileNotFoundError depending on context.

Common situations: judge.md was deleted, renamed, or not included in a Docker image due to .dockerignore excluding .md files. The package was installed from a wheel/sdist that did not include non-Python data files (missing package_data or MANIFEST.in). Running from a shallow clone or worktree that lacks the file. Case mismatch on case-sensitive filesystems.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of google-gemini/gemini-cli@5024443c72 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6546383738fab485. Report an issue: GitHub.