Atlas exits with Directory "<dir>" in <path> is not valid. Rename the directory to "<suggestion>" or remove it. This is a common typo, because Atlas raises ConfigDirectoryTypoError when it finds a near-miss directory name, such as a misspelled agents or commands folder. The fix is to rename the directory to the exact suggestion printed in the message, or delete the directory if it was created by accident, then re-run Atlas to confirm the typo check passes.
Why does Atlas say my config directory name is not valid?
Atlas says Directory "<dir>" in <path> is not valid because Atlas raises ConfigDirectoryTypoError when it finds a near-miss directory name, for example a misspelled agents or commands folder. The message names 3 things: the directory it found, the path it found it in, and the corrected name it expected.
A near-miss directory name is a folder whose name is close enough to a real Atlas config directory that it is almost certainly a typo. A misspelled agents folder, or a misspelled commands folder, is the classic case. Atlas could ignore the folder, but ignoring it would mean the agents or commands you carefully wrote inside it are simply never loaded, with no explanation. ConfigDirectoryTypoError exists to prevent exactly that silent failure. The error names the directory it found, the path it found it in, and the corrected name it expected.
How to fix Directory is not valid in Atlas
Fix Directory "<dir>" is not valid in Atlas in 1 of 2 ways: rename the directory to the exact suggestion printed in the message, or delete the directory if it was created by accident. Atlas prints the corrected name it expected, so no guessing about the right spelling is required.
Renaming is the right move when the folder holds work you want Atlas to load. Copy the suggestion out of the error text exactly rather than typing it from memory, because a second near miss produces the same ConfigDirectoryTypoError on the next run. Deleting is the right move when the folder was created by accident, perhaps by a stray command or a bad copy, and holds nothing you need. Either way Atlas stops complaining once the near-miss name is gone from the config tree named in the message.
Which config tree is the bad directory in?
Atlas names the path it found in the error: Directory "<dir>" in <path> is not valid. Check both of the 2 config trees, project-local and global, because the misspelled folder can live in either one and the path in the message tells you exactly which tree Atlas is complaining about.
Fixing the wrong copy of the folder is the most common way this error survives a fix attempt. Atlas can read config from a project-local tree and from a global tree, and a misspelled agents or commands folder in either will raise ConfigDirectoryTypoError. Read the <path> in the message and open that exact location. If you rename a project-local folder and the same error returns unchanged, look again at the path: the near-miss directory is probably sitting in the global tree, where a much older typo may have been waiting.
Why does Atlas stop instead of ignoring a misspelled folder?
Atlas stops on a misspelled config directory because ignoring it would silently drop everything inside. A misspelled agents folder means 0 of its agents ever register, so Atlas raises ConfigDirectoryTypoError with the corrected name instead of starting up and behaving as though the folder does not exist.
Silent omission is worse than a hard failure here, and the design reflects that. If Atlas quietly skipped a near-miss folder, you would launch Atlas, look for a subagent you wrote, and find it missing with no error to search for. Atlas fans out work to subagents that can run in the foreground or in parallel background sessions, so an agents directory that never loads has real consequences for how work gets done. ConfigDirectoryTypoError turns a confusing absence into a one-line fix, and it hands you the corrected name.
How to verify the directory typo fix worked in Atlas
Verify the Atlas directory typo fix by re-running Atlas to confirm the typo check passes. A start with no Directory "<dir>" in <path> is not valid message means Atlas finds 0 near-miss directory names in either the project-local or the global config tree.
Re-running Atlas is the verification step, since the typo check runs when Atlas reads the config tree. Beyond a clean start, confirm the payoff: whatever lived in the misspelled folder should now be registered. If the folder was a misspelled agents directory, the agents inside it should now be available. If it was a misspelled commands directory, the commands should now resolve. A clean start plus visible agents or commands means the rename landed in the tree Atlas actually reads, which is the tree named in the original error path.
How to fix it
- 01Rename the directory to the exact suggestion printed in the message.
- 02Or delete the directory if it was created by accident.
- 03Check both the project-local and global config trees, because the message names the path it found.
- 04Re-run Atlas to confirm the typo check passes.
- 05Confirm the agents or commands in the renamed folder are now registered.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I fix Directory is not valid in Atlas config?
- Rename the directory to the exact suggestion printed in the message, or delete the directory if it was created by accident. Atlas raises ConfigDirectoryTypoError on a near-miss directory name and includes the corrected name it expected, so use that spelling exactly.
- What is ConfigDirectoryTypoError in Atlas?
- ConfigDirectoryTypoError is the error Atlas raises when it finds a near-miss directory name in a config tree, for example a misspelled agents or commands folder. The message reads Directory "<dir>" in <path> is not valid, and it names the corrected directory name Atlas expected.
- Why does Atlas reject a misspelled agents folder instead of ignoring it?
- Ignoring a misspelled agents folder would mean the agents inside it never load, with no error to explain why. Atlas raises ConfigDirectoryTypoError instead, names the path it found, and prints the corrected name so the fix is a rename.
- Where is the misspelled Atlas config directory?
- Read the path in the message, since Atlas prints Directory "<dir>" in <path> is not valid. Check both the project-local and global config trees, because the near-miss folder can be in either one and the path names the tree Atlas found it in.
- Can I just delete the invalid Atlas config directory?
- Yes, if it was created by accident and holds nothing you need. Deleting the directory is a documented fix. If the folder contains agents or commands you want Atlas to load, rename it to the suggestion instead.
- How do I confirm the Atlas directory typo is resolved?
- Re-run Atlas to confirm the typo check passes. A start with no Directory "<dir>" is not valid message means the near-miss directory name is gone, and the agents or commands from the renamed folder should now be registered.
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