What causes "No project directory provided" in remix-run/react-router?

Pass the directory as a positional argument: npx create-react-router ./my-app

remix-run/react-router · error · Error

No project directory provided

Error message

No project directory provided

What it means

projectNameStep() requires a project directory whenever the shell is non-interactive (no TTY on stdin). In non-interactive mode the CLI cannot prompt for a directory, so if no positional projectDir argument was given it aborts immediately with this error.

Solutions

Pass the directory as a positional argument: npx create-react-router ./my-app
In scripts, always include the project directory plus any needed flags (--yes, --no-install, --overwrite)
If you expected the interactive prompt, run the command in a real terminal (TTY attached)

Example fix

# before (CI, non-interactive)
npx create-react-router

# after
npx create-react-router ./my-app --yes

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

function assertScaffoldArgs(argv: string[]): void {
  const hasPositional = argv.length > 0 && !argv[0].startsWith("-");
  if (!process.stdin.isTTY && !hasPositional) {
    throw new Error("Non-interactive shell: pass the project directory as a positional argument");
  }
}

assertScaffoldArgs(restArgs);
await createReactRouter(restArgs);

Try / catch

try {
  await createReactRouter(args);
} catch (e) {
  if ((e as Error).message === "No project directory provided") {
    console.error("Rerun with a directory: create-react-router ./my-app --yes");
    process.exit(1);
  }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

Always pass the target directory positionally in scripts, Docker, and CI
Assume --yes behavior whenever stdin is not a TTY
Add a wrapper script that fails fast on missing args before invoking npx

When it happens

Trigger: Running create-react-router with no positional argument in CI, Docker, or a piped shell (stdin not a TTY); scripts redirecting stdin from /dev/null; terminal emulators that do not allocate a TTY.

Common situations: Dockerfiles, GitHub Actions steps, and smoke tests invoking the CLI without a target directory; automation where isInteractive() is false and --yes is implied.

Understand the failure class

Background: "missing required argument" and "the following required arguments were not provided": what required-argument errors mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of remix-run/react-router@6beaca3952 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8c9cd1c795e0f96f. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at packages/create-react-router/index.ts:220

      color.bold("create-react-router"),
    )} ${color.bold(`v${ctx.reactRouterVersion}`)}`,
  );

  if (!ctx.interactive) {
    log("");
    info("Shell is not interactive.", [
      `Using default options. This is equivalent to running with the `,
      color.reset("--yes"),
      ` flag.`,
    ]);
  }
}

async function projectNameStep(ctx: Context) {
  // valid cwd is required if shell isn't interactive
  if (!ctx.interactive && !ctx.cwd) {
    error("Oh no!", "No project directory provided");
    throw new Error("No project directory provided");
  }

  if (ctx.cwd) {
    await sleep(100);
    info("Directory:", [
      "Using ",
      color.reset(ctx.cwd),
      " as project directory",
    ]);
  }

  if (!ctx.cwd) {
    let { name } = await ctx.prompt({
      name: "name",
      type: "text",
      label: title("dir"),
      message: "Where should we create your new project?",
      initial: "./my-react-router-app",

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