Snyk CLI exits with code 3 - no supported files or projects detected

TL;DR

Check that you are running in the right directory and that the project type is one Snyk supports.

Steps

1. Per Snyk docs: exit 3 means nothing scannable was found - check the working directory and project support.

When to use

You are seeing this: Per Snyk docs: exit 3 means nothing scannable was found - check the working directory and project support. Use this skill when you run into "Snyk CLI exits with code 3 - no supported files or projects detected".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

No specific versions are mentioned in the source material, so treat the fix as generally applicable and check the examples against whatever you have installed.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

Source: Problem: snyk test exits with code 3. The CLI found no supported manifest or project files in the target, so there was nothing to scan. Check that you are running in the right directory and that the project type is one Snyk supports.

Verified resolution: Per Snyk docs: exit 3 means nothing scannable was found - check the working directory and project support.

Source URL: https://github.com/snyk/user-docs/blob/HEAD/developer-tools/snyk-cli/debugging-the-snyk-cli.md