plandex-ai/plandex · error

error getting project paths: %v

Error message

error getting project paths: %v

What it means

Build wraps any error returned by fs.GetProjectPaths when resolving the base directory for the current contexts. It means the CLI could not determine where project files (contexts, plan files) live, so it cannot proceed to check outdated contexts or build. The underlying cause (path resolution or stat failure) is embedded in the message.

Source

Thrown at app/cli/plan_exec/build.go:37

	term.StartSpinner("")

	err := PromptSyncModelsIfNeeded()
	if err != nil {
		term.OutputErrorAndExit("Error syncing models: %v", err)
	}

	term.StartSpinner("")

	contexts, apiErr := api.Client.ListContext(params.CurrentPlanId, params.CurrentBranch)

	if apiErr != nil {
		term.OutputErrorAndExit("Error getting context: %v", apiErr)
	}

	paths, err := fs.GetProjectPaths(fs.GetBaseDirForContexts(contexts))

	if err != nil {
		return false, fmt.Errorf("error getting project paths: %v", err)
	}

	anyOutdated, didUpdate, err := params.CheckOutdatedContext(contexts, paths)

	if err != nil {
		term.OutputErrorAndExit("error checking outdated context: %v", err)
	}

	if anyOutdated && !didUpdate {
		term.StopSpinner()
		log.Println("Build canceled")
		return false, nil
	}

	apiErr = api.Client.BuildPlan(params.CurrentPlanId, params.CurrentBranch, shared.BuildPlanRequest{
		ConnectStream: !buildBg,
		ProjectPaths:  paths.ActivePaths,
		AuthVars:      params.AuthVars,

View on GitHub (pinned to e2d772072e)

Solutions

1. Verify the current working directory exists and is readable (pwd, ls)
2. Re-create the project base directory or re-init the project
3. Check permissions on the project directory
4. Reopen the session from the correct project root

Example fix

// before
paths, err := fs.GetProjectPaths(fs.GetBaseDirForContexts(contexts))
// after
baseDir := fs.GetBaseDirForContexts(contexts)
if _, err := os.Stat(baseDir); os.IsNotExist(err) {
    os.MkdirAll(baseDir, 0755)
}
paths, err := fs.GetProjectPaths(baseDir)

baseDir := fs.GetBaseDirForContexts(contexts)
if _, err := os.Stat(baseDir); err != nil {
    // recreate or abort before calling Build
    os.MkdirAll(baseDir, 0755)
}

func projectPathsOk(baseDir string) bool {
    info, err := os.Stat(baseDir)
    return err == nil && info.IsDir()
}

_, err := Build(params)
if err != nil && strings.HasPrefix(err.Error(), "error getting project paths") {
    // recover: reinit project dirs or cd back to project root
    return fmt.Errorf("project directory missing: %w", err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Build when fs.GetProjectPaths(fs.GetBaseDirForContexts(contexts)) returns an error — typically the base directory does not exist, cannot be created, or a path component cannot be resolved for the given contexts.

Common situations: Running plandex from a directory that was deleted or renamed after session start; context referencing a project root that was moved; permission problems in $HOME or project dir.

Related errors

• error checking if %s is a subpath of %s: %s
• path %s is not in the project
• error loading accounts: %v
• error setting auth: %v
• error writing auth: %v

AI-assisted analysis of plandex-ai/plandex@e2d772072e (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6afe812e03499f2e. Report an issue: GitHub.