What causes "⚠️ modes_dir "${customModesDir}" not found; using default modes/" in santifer/career-ops?

Check the directory exists: `ls modes/` and compare with the modes_dir value in config/profile.yml; fix typos (e.g. modes/de, not modes/deutch).

santifer/career-ops · warning

⚠️ modes_dir " " not found; using default modes/

Error message

⚠️   modes_dir "${customModesDir}" not found; using default modes/

What it means

This warning fires when language.modes_dir in config/profile.yml names a directory that does not exist on disk (the existsSync(dirPath) check fails). The tool falls back to the default modes/ directory, so evaluation proceeds but without the market-specific modes the user intended. It is a silent-degradation warning: expect default (English) evaluation vocabulary and rules.

Solutions

Check the directory exists: `ls modes/` and compare with the modes_dir value in config/profile.yml; fix typos (e.g. modes/de, not modes/deutch).
Create the missing directory and populate it from the shipped market template (copy modes/de/ for German, modes/fr/ for French, etc.).
If the market dir is not needed, remove the language.modes_dir key from config/profile.yml so the default modes/ is used without warnings.

Example fix

# before (config/profile.yml)
language:
  modes_dir: modes/dutch   # does not exist

# after
language:
  modes_dir: modes/de      # shipped German market dir
# or create it: mkdir -p modes/dutch && cp modes/de/*.md modes/dutch/

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

import { existsSync } from 'node:fs';
import { resolve } from 'node:path';
const md = profile?.language?.modes_dir;
if (md && !existsSync(resolve(md))) {
  console.warn(`modes_dir "${md}" does not exist — fix config/profile.yml or create the directory`);
}

Try / catch

try {
  await runEvaluation();
} catch (err) {
  if (/modes_dir .* not found/.test(err.message)) {
    console.warn('Check the modes_dir path in config/profile.yml; default modes/ was used instead.');
  } else throw err;
}

Prevention

Run `ls <modes_dir>` after editing config/profile.yml to confirm the directory exists before evaluating.
Copy market dirs from templates/portals or the shipped modes/ tree rather than typing paths from memory.
Keep modes_dir values short and relative (modes/de, modes/fr) to reduce typo risk.
Re-verify the profile after repo updates that may rename or restructure modes/.

When it happens

Trigger: config/profile.yml sets language.modes_dir to a path inside the project root that is absent — e.g. modes_dir: modes/es before creating modes/es, a typo like modes/deutsh, or the directory was deleted/renamed after the profile was written.

Common situations: Users enable a market mode (e.g. modes_dir: modes/ja) before checking out/copying that market directory; typos in the modes_dir value; directories lost after a repo update or incomplete manual installation; profile copied from another project whose modes layout differs.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of santifer/career-ops@aac998c7ed (2026-09-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/844e2e33748b98f0. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at gemini-eval.mjs:125

    const profile = yaml.load(yamlContent);
    if (profile && profile.language && profile.language.modes_dir) {
      const customModesDir = profile.language.modes_dir;
      const dirPath = resolve(CODE_ROOT, customModesDir);
      const rel = relative(CODE_ROOT, dirPath);
      if (rel.startsWith('..') || isAbsolute(customModesDir)) {
        console.warn(`⚠️   modes_dir "${customModesDir}" escapes project root; using default modes/`);
      } else {
        if (existsSync(dirPath)) {
          const candidateFiles = ['oferta.md', 'angebot.md', 'offre.md', 'kyujin.md', 'is-ilani.md', 'naukri.md'];
          const found = candidateFiles.find((file) => existsSync(join(dirPath, file)));
          if (found) {
            modesDir = customModesDir;
            evalFilename = found;
          } else {
            console.warn(`⚠️   No matching evaluation file found in ${customModesDir}; using default modes/oferta.md`);
          }
        } else {
          console.warn(`⚠️   modes_dir "${customModesDir}" not found; using default modes/`);
        }
      }
    }
  } catch (err) {
    console.warn(`⚠️   Could not parse config/profile.yml: ${err.message}`);
  }
}

PATHS.shared = join(CODE_ROOT, modesDir, '_shared.md');
PATHS.oferta = join(CODE_ROOT, modesDir, evalFilename);

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
// CLI argument parsing
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
const args = process.argv.slice(2);

if (args.length === 0 || args[0] === '--help' || args[0] === '-h') {
  console.log(`

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