What causes "{file} does not exist" in microsoft/autogen?

Ensure the file exists under executor.work_dir before calling: create/copy it there first

microsoft/autogen · error · FileNotFoundError

{file} does not exist

Error message

{file} does not exist

What it means

Raised by AzureContainerCodeExecutor.upload_files when one of the requested files does not exist as a file under the executor's local work_dir. The method joins each name to self.work_dir and checks is_file() before POSTing to the session's files/upload endpoint.

Source

Thrown at python/packages/autogen-ext/src/autogen_ext/code_executors/azure/_azure_container_code_executor.py:321

        values = data["value"]
        file_info_list: List[str] = []
        for value in values:
            file = value["properties"]
            file_info_list.append(file["filename"])
        return file_info_list

    async def upload_files(self, files: List[Union[Path, str]], cancellation_token: CancellationToken) -> None:
        self._ensure_access_token()
        # TODO: Better to use the client auth system rather than headers
        headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {self._access_token}"}
        url = self._construct_url("files/upload")
        timeout = aiohttp.ClientTimeout(total=float(self._timeout))
        async with aiohttp.ClientSession(timeout=timeout) as client:
            for file in files:
                file_path = self.work_dir / file
                if not file_path.is_file():
                    # TODO: what to do here?
                    raise FileNotFoundError(f"{file} does not exist")

                data = aiohttp.FormData()
                async with await open_file(file_path, "rb") as f:
                    data.add_field(
                        "file",
                        f,
                        filename=os.path.basename(file_path),
                        content_type="application/octet-stream",
                    )

                    task = asyncio.create_task(
                        client.post(
                            url,
                            headers=headers,
                            data=data,
                        )
                    )

View on GitHub (pinned to 027ecf0a37)

Solutions

Ensure the file exists under executor.work_dir before calling: create/copy it there first
If the file lives elsewhere, configure the executor with the correct work_dir at construction, or copy the file into executor.work_dir
Check for typos and that the path is a file (not a directory) via Path.is_file()

Example fix

# before
await executor.upload_files(["data.csv"], ct)  # FileNotFoundError if not in work_dir

# after
src = Path("/elsewhere/data.csv")
shutil.copy(src, executor.work_dir / src.name)
await executor.upload_files([src.name], ct)

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

from pathlib import Path

def ensure_uploadable(executor, names: list[str]) -> None:
    for name in names:
        p = Path(executor.work_dir) / name
        if not p.is_file():
            raise FileNotFoundError(f"copy {name} into {executor.work_dir} before upload")

Type guard

null

Try / catch

try:
    await executor.upload_files(files, ct)
except FileNotFoundError as e:
    missing = Path(str(e).split()[0].strip('"'))
    shutil.copy(source_dir / missing.name, executor.work_dir / missing.name)
    await executor.upload_files(files, ct)

Prevention

Stage all files into executor.work_dir before calling upload_files
Derive upload names from actual directory listings, not hardcoded strings

When it happens

Trigger: Calling upload_files(["data.csv"]) when data.csv is not in the executor's work_dir, when the path is a directory, or when a relative subdirectory component does not exist locally. Any missing entry aborts the whole upload loop mid-way.

Common situations: Passing a bare filename when the file lives elsewhere (user forgot to set work_dir or copied the file into a different directory); passing an absolute path where work_dir/file then double-qualifies; uploading after the file was written by a previous container run that never saved it locally.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of microsoft/autogen@027ecf0a37 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9719ac88a5a317d3. Report an issue: GitHub.