hasura/graphql-engine · error · errors.Error

failed recursively find config.yaml: search stopped due to a

Error message

failed recursively find config.yaml: search stopped due to a possible infinite filesystem traversal at %s

What it means

recursivelyValidateDirectory walks upward from the start directory looking for the required files (config.yaml, migrations/, etc.). filepath.Dir eventually returns the same path it was given (at the filesystem root), which is used as a loop sentinel to stop the walk. Hitting it means the upward search exhausted the filesystem without finding the required files and cannot go further.

Source

Thrown at cli/directory.go:90

var filesRequired = []string{
	"config.yaml",
}

// recursivelyValidateDirectory tries to parse 'startFrom' as a project
// directory by checking for the 'filesRequired'. If the parent of 'startFrom'
// (nextDir) is filesystem root, error is returned. Otherwise, 'nextDir' is
// validated, recursively.
func recursivelyValidateDirectory(startFrom string) (validDir string, err error) {
	var op errors.Op = "cli.recursivelyValidateDirectory"

	err = ValidateDirectory(startFrom)
	if err != nil {
		nextDir := filepath.Dir(startFrom)
		// to catch error gracefully in loop situation
		if nextDir == startFrom {
			return "", errors.E(
				op,
				fmt.Errorf(
					"failed recursively find config.yaml: search stopped due to a possible infinite filesystem traversal at %s",
					nextDir,
				),
			)
		}

		err := CheckFilesystemBoundary(nextDir)
		if err != nil {
			return nextDir, errors.E(
				op,
				fmt.Errorf(
					"cannot find [%s] | search stopped: %w",
					strings.Join(filesRequired, ", "),
					err,
				),
			)
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to 724551b9ae)

Solutions

1. cd into the project directory (the one containing config.yaml) before running the CLI
2. Pass the correct directory explicitly via the directory flag
3. Ensure config.yaml actually exists and is spelled correctly at the project root

Example fix

# before
cd /tmp && mycli run   # upward search reaches /
# after
cd ~/code/myproject && mycli run

if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(cwd, "config.yaml")); err != nil {
    // walk up ourselves with a limit, or require explicit --dir
    log.Fatal("no config.yaml in cwd or ancestors; cd into the project or pass --dir")
}

if err := ec.Validate(); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "infinite filesystem traversal") {
        // rerun from the project root or supply the directory explicitly
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: recursivelyValidateDirectory starting from a directory whose entire ancestor chain up to / contains none of the required files, so filepath.Dir(startFrom) == startFrom at the root triggers the graceful stop.

Common situations: Running the CLI far away from the project root (e.g. in /tmp or $HOME) so the upward scan reaches / without finding config.yaml; a renamed or missing config.yaml breaking detection.

Related errors

• cannot find [%s] | search stopped: %w
• writing metadata to file: %w
• reading metadata file: %w
• error finding absolute path for project directory: %w
• did not find required directory. use 'init'?: %w

AI-assisted analysis of hasura/graphql-engine@724551b9ae (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ac0d700de0f224cc. Report an issue: GitHub.