jordansissel/fpm · error · FPM::Package::InvalidArgument

The given workdir '#{workdir}' does not exist.

Error message

The given workdir '#{workdir}' does not exist.

What it means

The --workdir path must already exist: fpm validates existence before assigning the directory to ENV['TMP'] for package staging. A non-existent path logs a fatal message and raises FPM::Package::InvalidArgument with the given path.

Source

Thrown at lib/fpm/command.rb:306

    end

    if (stray_flags = args.grep(/^-/); stray_flags.any?)
      logger.warn("All flags should be before the first argument " \
                   "(stray flags found: #{stray_flags}")
    end

    # Some older behavior, if you specify:
    #   'fpm -s dir -t ... -C somepath'
    # fpm would assume you meant to add '.' to the end of the commandline.
    # Let's hack that. https://github.com/jordansissel/fpm/issues/187
    if input_type == "dir" and args.empty? and !chdir.nil?
      logger.info("No args, but -s dir and -C are given, assuming '.' as input")
      args << "."
    end

    if !File.exist?(workdir)
      logger.fatal("Given --workdir=#{workdir} is not a path that exists.")
      raise FPM::Package::InvalidArgument, "The given workdir '#{workdir}' does not exist."
    end
    if !File.directory?(workdir)
      logger.fatal("Given --workdir=#{workdir} must be a directory")
      raise FPM::Package::InvalidArgument, "The given workdir '#{workdir}' must be a directory."
    end

    logger.info("Setting workdir", :workdir => workdir)
    ENV["TMP"] = workdir

    validator = Validator.new(self)
    if !validator.ok?
      validator.messages.each do |message|
        logger.warn(message)
      end

      logger.fatal("Fix the above problems, and you'll be rolling packages in no time!")
      return 1
    end

View on GitHub (pinned to b6d77ba72a)

Solutions

1. Create the directory up front: mkdir -p <workdir> in the build script
2. Use an absolute --workdir path to avoid cwd-dependent resolution
3. Make the directory-creation step unconditional in pipelines

Example fix

# before
fpm --workdir /tmp/fpm-build -s dir -t deb ./app   # dir missing

# after
mkdir -p /tmp/fpm-build && fpm --workdir /tmp/fpm-build -s dir -t deb ./app

require 'fileutils'

workdir = File.expand_path('/tmp/fpm-build')
FileUtils.mkdir_p(workdir)
system('fpm', '--workdir', workdir, '-s', 'dir', '-t', 'deb', './app')

begin
  FPM::Command.run(argv)
rescue FPM::Package::InvalidArgument => e
  abort "fix --workdir: #{e.message}"
end

When it happens

Trigger: Running 'fpm --workdir /tmp/fpm-build ...' before creating that directory; a relative --workdir resolved from a different cwd in CI; the directory normally created by an earlier pipeline step that was skipped or failed.

Common situations: CI workspaces where setup steps are conditional; typos in the flag value; scripts run from a different working directory than assumed.

Related errors

• The given workdir '#{workdir}' must be a directory.
• Invalid log level, #{v.inspect}. Must be one of: #{loglevels
• Options file given to --fpm-options-file is seems too large.
• pear
• #{program}

AI-assisted analysis of jordansissel/fpm@b6d77ba72a (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ebb9a5558d71665e. Report an issue: GitHub.