What causes "No config at "${configPath}"" in vercel/turborepo?

Verify the file exists as spelled: `ls ` from the same cwd turbo gen runs in

vercel/turborepo · error · GeneratorError

No config at "${configPath}"

Error message

No config at "${configPath}"

What it means

When `turbo gen` is invoked with an explicit --config path, discoverGeneratorConfigs requires that exact file to exist; fs.existsSync failing on it throws GeneratorError `No config at "<configPath>"` (type plop_no_config) before any generator is loaded.

Source

Thrown at packages/turbo-gen/src/utils/plop.ts:69

    return undefined;
  } finally {
    if (bundledConfigPath !== configPath) {
      try {
        fs.removeSync(bundledConfigPath);
      } catch {
        // Ignore cleanup failures.
      }
    }
  }
}

function discoverGeneratorConfigs(
  project: Project,
  configPath?: string
): Array<GeneratorConfig> {
  if (configPath) {
    if (!fs.existsSync(configPath)) {
      throw new GeneratorError(`No config at "${configPath}"`, {
        type: "plop_no_config"
      });
    }
    return [{ config: configPath, root: configPath, workspace: "root" }];
  }

  const configs: Array<GeneratorConfig> = [];

  for (const possiblePath of SUPPORTED_ROOT_GENERATOR_CONFIGS) {
    const plopFile = path.join(project.paths.root, possiblePath);
    if (fs.existsSync(plopFile)) {
      configs.push({
        config: plopFile,
        root: project.paths.root,
        workspace: "root"
      });
      break;
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 9f94a7d215)

Solutions

Verify the file exists as spelled: `ls <configPath>` from the same cwd turbo gen runs in
Create the config first — e.g. via the generator-setup flow (`turbo gen init` / generating the turbo/generators/config.ts from the embedded template)
Drop the --config flag and let turbo discover `turbo/generators/config.{ts,js,cjs,mts,mjs}` or a root `plopfile.*` automatically

Example fix

# before
turbo gen --config turbo/generators/config.js my-gen   # only config.ts exists
# after
turbo gen --config turbo/generators/config.ts my-gen

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

import fs from 'node:fs';

function configExists(configPath: string): boolean {
  return fs.existsSync(configPath);
}
// before turbo gen --config <path>: if (!configExists(path)) fail with a helpful message

Try / catch

try {
  await runCustomGenerator({ project, generator, configPath });
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof GeneratorError && err.type === 'plop_no_config') {
    // fall back to discovery mode: re-run without configPath and let turbo find turbo/generators/config.*
    return runCustomGenerator({ project, generator });
  }
  throw err;
}

Prevention

Resolve --config to an absolute path before invoking turbo gen so cwd changes cannot break it
Assert the config file exists in package.json scripts before CI runs the generator
Prefer relying on auto-discovery (turbo/generators/config.ts / plopfile.ts) over hardcoded paths

When it happens

Trigger: Running `turbo gen --config turbo/generators/config.ts` when that file does not exist: typo in the path, config not created yet, or running from a directory where the relative path resolves elsewhere.

Common situations: Running turbo gen from the wrong working directory during onboarding; renamed or deleted generator configs still referenced by scripts in package.json; CI invoking the command before the config file is generated.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of vercel/turborepo@9f94a7d215 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b92e3226009947c4. Report an issue: GitHub.