microsoft/semantic-kernel · error · FileNotFoundError

Directory not found in repository.

Error message

Directory {path} not found in repository.

What it means

Raised by RepoFilePlugin.list_directory when os.listdir(path) raises FileNotFoundError, i.e. the resolved directory does not exist. The directory path is computed relative to the repo root (four levels up).

Solutions

1. Confirm the directory exists relative to the actual repo root.
2. Verify the plugin's four-level '..' base still points to the repo root after any relocation.
3. Check the path with os.path.isdir before calling list_directory.
4. Provide the directory name via read_file_by_name-style search if unsure of the exact path.

Example fix

// before
plugin.list_directory('src')

// after
base = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', '..', '..', '..'))
target = os.path.join(base, 'python/samples')
plugin.list_directory('python/samples')  # confirmed existing dir

import os
base = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', '..', '..', '..'))
target = os.path.normpath(os.path.join(base, rel_path))
if not os.path.isdir(target):
    raise FileNotFoundError(f'Directory not at {target}')
return os.listdir(target)

import os
def is_repo_dir(rel_path: str) -> bool:
    base = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', '..', '..', '..'))
    target = os.path.normpath(os.path.join(base, rel_path))
    return os.path.isdir(target)

When it happens

Trigger: Calling list_directory with a relative path that does not correspond to an existing directory; pointing at a file instead of a directory (raises NotADirectoryError, not caught here); the base resolution is wrong.

Common situations: LLM guesses a directory path; the directory only exists on a different branch; case-sensitivity differences across platforms; the relative base hops are off after the plugin is moved.

Related errors

• File not found in repository.
• File not found in repository.
• Plugins directory not found. The app needs the plugins from…
• An error occurred while accessing the file.
• Could not determine the assembly path.

AI-assisted analysis of microsoft/semantic-kernel@c028a0c7dc (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c0b6ad59301d6f94. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at python/samples/demos/document_generator/plugins/repo_file_plugin.py:51

        path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..", "..", "..", "..")
        for root, dirs, files in os.walk(path):
            if file_name in files:
                print(f"Found file {file_name} in {root}.")
                with open(os.path.join(root, file_name)) as file:
                    return file.read()
        raise FileNotFoundError(f"File {file_name} not found in repository.")

    @kernel_function(description="List all files or subdirectories in a directory.")
    def list_directory(
        self, path: Annotated[str, "Path of a directory relative to the root of the repository."]
    ) -> Annotated[str, "Returns a list of files and subdirectories as a string."]:
        path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..", "..", "..", "..", path)
        try:
            files = os.listdir(path)
            # Join the list of files into a single string
            return "\n".join(files)
        except FileNotFoundError:
            raise FileNotFoundError(f"Directory {path} not found in repository.")

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