locate-missing-artifacts

name	locate-missing-artifacts
description	Recover generated files in sandboxed environments by searching from confirmed roots and copying to expected locations

Locate Missing Artifacts in Sandboxed Environments

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• A tool reports success but files are not found in their expected locations
• You receive errors like "file not found" after a tool claims to have created it
• You're working in a sandboxed/ephemeral environment where file paths may shift
• Directory structure mismatches occur between tool execution and validation

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Confirm the Failure

Before searching, verify the file is actually missing from the expected location:

ls -la /expected/path/filename.ext
# or
test -f /expected/path/filename.ext && echo "Found" || echo "Missing"

Step 2: Identify Confirmed Root Directories

Determine which directories you know exist and where tools typically write:

# Common roots to check
ls -la /
ls -la $HOME
ls -la /tmp
ls -la /workspace
ls -la .

Step 3: Search for the Artifact Using find

Use find from confirmed root directories to locate the missing file:

# Search by filename
find /workspace -name "filename.ext" 2>/dev/null

# Search by pattern if exact name varies
find /workspace -name "*.ext" 2>/dev/null

# Search broader paths if needed
find / -name "filename.ext" 2>/dev/null | head -20

Step 4: Copy Artifact to Expected Location

Once located, explicitly copy the file to where it should be:

# Copy to expected location
cp /found/path/filename.ext /expected/path/filename.ext

# Or if you need to preserve the original
cp -r /found/path/filename.ext /expected/path/

# Verify the copy succeeded
ls -la /expected/path/filename.ext

Step 5: Validate Before Proceeding

Confirm the file is now accessible at the expected location:

# Test file exists and is readable
test -f /expected/path/filename.ext && test -r /expected/path/filename.ext && echo "Ready"

# Check file size to ensure it's not empty
stat /expected/path/filename.ext

Common Patterns

Pattern: Output Written to Wrong Directory

# Tool wrote to current directory instead of specified output dir
find . -name "*.docx" -type f
cp ./report.docx ./output/report.docx

Pattern: Temporary Directory Used

# File ended up in /tmp or similar
find /tmp -name "*.pdf" -mtime -1
cp /tmp/generated.pdf ./deliverables/

Pattern: Nested Subdirectory Created

# Tool created extra directory levels
find /workspace -type f -name "*.xlsx"
# May find: /workspace/output/2024/reports/file.xlsx
cp /workspace/output/2024/reports/file.xlsx /workspace/deliverables/

Prevention Tips

1. Always specify absolute paths when giving tools output locations
2. Check the working directory before and after tool execution: pwd
3. Verify immediately after a tool reports success before proceeding
4. Use tool-specific confirmations when available (e.g., return paths)

Example: Complete Recovery Workflow

# 1. Tool reported creating report.docx but it's missing
ls ./deliverables/report.docx
# Output: ls: cannot access './deliverables/report.docx': No such file or directory

# 2. Search for it
find /workspace -name "report.docx" 2>/dev/null
# Output: /workspace/tmp/generated/report.docx

# 3. Copy to expected location
mkdir -p ./deliverables
cp /workspace/tmp/generated/report.docx ./deliverables/report.docx

# 4. Validate
ls -la ./deliverables/report.docx
# Output: -rw-r--r-- 1 user user 45678 Jan 15 10:30 ./deliverables/report.docx

# Success - file is now where it should be

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
find returns no results	Expand search to broader paths (/, /home, /root)
Multiple matches found	Check timestamps (-mtime -1) or file sizes to identify the correct one
Permission denied on copy	Use sudo if available, or check if file is in a read-only mount
File exists but is empty	The tool may have failed silently; regenerate the artifact