exec: "ls -la": executable file not found in $PATH (terragrunt hook execute)

TL;DR: execute takes a LIST, not a shell string. execute = ["ls -la"] looks for a binary literally named ls -la and fails with "executable file not found". Split it into ["ls", "-la"], or use ["bash", "-c", "..."] when you genuinely need a shell.

Error: hook "preflight" failed: exec: "ls -la": executable file not found in $PATH

Steps

1. Look at the execute attribute: is it a single string with spaces?

Expected: you find execute = ["ls -la"] or similar.

1. Split it:

   terraform {
     before_hook "preflight" {
       commands = ["plan"]
       execute  = ["bash", "-c", "set -euo pipefail; ./scripts/preflight.sh"]
     }
   }

Expected: binary and args are separate list elements.

1. If the hook fails silently, remove suppress_stdout = true while debugging (it hides the hook's stdout, where diagnostics usually go).

Expected: you can see the hook's actual output.

1. Re-run.

Expected: the hook executes.

When this applies

• Hook fails with executable file not found in $PATH naming a string with spaces.
• A command that works in your shell fails as a hook.

When it doesn't apply

• The hook RUNS but exits non-zero: that's the script's own failure; read its output (check suppress_stdout first).
• commands doesn't list the subcommand you're running: the hook never fires at all, which looks different (no error).

Tool versions

All Terragrunt versions (verified on 1.1.3).

Why it happens

Terragrunt execs the list directly without a shell, so the first element must be a real binary. A single string is treated as one binary name, spaces included. There is no shell splitting, globbing, or piping unless you invoke one explicitly.

Edge cases

• Hooks run from the module directory by default (a temp .terragrunt-cache copy for remote sources), NOT the config directory; anchor scripts with get_terragrunt_dir() instead of relative paths.
• Each execute is its own process: a TF_VAR_* exported by one hook is not visible to the next.