rust-lang/cargo · error

no executable for `{}` found in PATH

Error message

no executable for `{}` found in PATH

What it means

From resolve_executable (crates/cargo-util/src/paths.rs:124-146). Given a single-component executable name, it walks every directory in $PATH, joins the name (plus the OS exe extension on Windows), and returns the first that is_file(). If none matches, it bails. Cargo uses this to locate external subcommands (cargo-<name>), configured rustc/rustdoc, and helper tools.

Source

Thrown at crates/cargo-util/src/paths.rs:142

pub fn resolve_executable(exec: &Path) -> Result<PathBuf> {
    if exec.components().count() == 1 {
        let paths = env::var_os("PATH").ok_or_else(|| anyhow::format_err!("no PATH"))?;
        let candidates = env::split_paths(&paths).flat_map(|path| {
            let candidate = path.join(&exec);
            let with_exe = if env::consts::EXE_EXTENSION.is_empty() {
                None
            } else {
                Some(candidate.with_extension(env::consts::EXE_EXTENSION))
            };
            iter::once(candidate).chain(with_exe)
        });
        for candidate in candidates {
            if candidate.is_file() {
                return Ok(candidate);
            }
        }

        anyhow::bail!("no executable for `{}` found in PATH", exec.display())
    } else {
        Ok(exec.into())
    }
}

/// Returns metadata for a file (follows symlinks).
///
/// Equivalent to [`std::fs::metadata`] with better error messages.
pub fn metadata<P: AsRef<Path>>(path: P) -> Result<Metadata> {
    let path = path.as_ref();
    std::fs::metadata(path)
        .with_context(|| format!("failed to load metadata for path `{}`", path.display()))
}

/// Returns metadata for a file without following symlinks.
///
/// Equivalent to [`std::fs::metadata`] with better error messages.
pub fn symlink_metadata<P: AsRef<Path>>(path: P) -> Result<Metadata> {

View on GitHub (pinned to 0e07a15537)

Solutions

1. Install the missing tool: `cargo install cargo-<name>` (or the system package).
2. Ensure its bin directory is on PATH (e.g. export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH") and verify with `which cargo-<name>`.
3. Reference the tool by absolute path instead of a bare name in config.
4. Check for typos in the command/config value.

Example fix

// before
$ cargo nextest run
error: no executable for `cargo-nextest` found in PATH

// after
$ cargo install cargo-nextest
$ cargo nextest run

// Pre-check PATH for an executable before calling resolve_executable
use std::env;

fn executable_on_path(name: &str) -> Option<std::path::PathBuf> {
    let path = env::var_os("PATH")?;
    for dir in env::split_paths(&path) {
        let candidate = dir.join(name);
        let with_ext = if std::env::consts::EXE_EXTENSION.is_empty() {
            candidate.clone()
        } else {
            candidate.with_extension(std::env::consts::EXE_EXTENSION)
        };
        if with_ext.is_file() { return Some(with_ext); }
    }
    None
}

if executable_on_path("cargo-nextest").is_none() {
    eprintln!("install cargo-nextest first");
}

match cargo_util::paths::resolve_executable(std::path::Path::new(name)) {
    Ok(p) => p,
    Err(e) => {
        eprintln!("tool `{name}` not found on PATH; install it or pass an absolute path");
        return Err(e.into());
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `cargo <x>` where `cargo-<x>` is not installed or not on PATH; a [build] rustc-wrapper / rustc = path pointing at a bare name that isn't found; a custom runner referenced by name. Also reachable from any library code calling cargo_util::paths::resolve_executable on a missing tool.

Common situations: Missing rustfmt, cargo-nextest, sccache, or a project-required cargo-<ext>. A fresh container/CI image without ~/.cargo/bin on PATH. A rustup toolchain switch leaving stale shims. A name typo in config.

Related errors

• `{feature}` is unsupported when inferring the crate name, us
• single file packages cannot be used as dependencies
• `{}` was defined in {} but could not be resolved with {}
• `{}` resolved to non-UTF value (`{}`)
• could not find cargo home dir

AI-assisted analysis of rust-lang/cargo@0e07a15537 (2026-08-06). Data as JSON: /data/errors/b83570a94a75c7ed.json. Report an issue: GitHub.