tauri-apps/tauri · error · tauri_cli::error::Error

{} project directory {} doesn't exist. Please run `tauri {}

Error message

{} project directory {} doesn't exist. Please run `tauri {} init` and try again.

What it means

`ensure_init` runs before every `tauri android/ios dev|build` and verifies that the generated mobile project directory exists (e.g. `src-tauri/gen/android` or `src-tauri/gen/ios`). If it is missing, the platform tooling cannot proceed and you are told to run the matching init command.

Source

Thrown at crates/tauri-cli/src/mobile/mod.rs:479

            target: Some(target.into()),
            ..Default::default()
          },
          &tauri_dir,
        )
        .expect("failed to resolve target directory")
    })
}

#[allow(unused_variables)]
fn ensure_init(
  tauri_config: &ConfigMetadata,
  app: &App,
  project_dir: PathBuf,
  target: Target,
  noninteractive: bool,
) -> Result<()> {
  if !project_dir.exists() {
    crate::error::bail!(
      "{} project directory {} doesn't exist. Please run `tauri {} init` and try again.",
      target.ide_name(),
      project_dir.display(),
      target.command_name(),
    )
  }

  let mut project_outdated_reasons = Vec::new();

  match target {
    Target::Android => {
      let java_folder = project_dir
        .join("app/src/main/java")
        .join(tauri_config.identifier.replace('.', "/").replace('-', "_"));
      if java_folder.exists() {
        #[cfg(unix)]
        ensure_gradlew(&project_dir)?;
      } else {

View on GitHub (pinned to 52e4b6e71d)

Solutions

1. Run `tauri android init` or `tauri ios init` from the project root (where the tauri config is).
2. If gen/ was deleted, re-run init — it regenerates the project.
3. Commit the generated project (Tauri recommends committing gen/ios; for android at least ensure CI runs init).
4. Verify the directory exists afterwards: `ls src-tauri/gen/android`.

Example fix

# before
tauri android dev
# error: Android Studio project directory src-tauri/gen/android doesn't exist

# after
tauri android init
tauri android dev

# Before dev/build, ensure the generated project exists
for plat in android ios; do
  test -d "src-tauri/gen/$plat" || { echo "missing gen/$plat - run: tauri $plat init"; }
done

When it happens

Trigger: Executing `tauri android dev`/`tauri ios build` (etc.) in a repo where `tauri android init` / `tauri ios init` was never run, or where `src-tauri/gen/` was deleted, never committed by a .gitignore (gen/android is typically ignored), or the command is run from the wrong working directory so the tauri config is not found.

Common situations: Fresh clone of a project whose `gen/` folder is gitignored; a teammate assuming gen output is committed; running the CLI outside the project root; CI jobs that skip init.

Related errors

• No external IP detected.
• failed to read missing addr file {}: {e}
• iOS platform not installed
• {} project directory is outdated because {reason}. Please de
• Android folder already exists

AI-assisted analysis of tauri-apps/tauri@52e4b6e71d (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9cce383278e6de58. Report an issue: GitHub.