AppRunner deployment fails with `/usr/bin/cd: line 2: cd: too many arguments`

Question

Here is my `apprunner.yaml`:

```
version: 1.0
runtime: nodejs22
build:
  commands:
    build:
      - npm install && npm run build
      - cd showcase && npm install && npm run build
run:
  command: "cd showcase && npm run serve"
  network:
    port: 8080
```

Here are the scripts from `package.json`:

```
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "vite",
    "build": "tsc -b && vite build",
    "lint": "eslint .",
    "preview": "vite preview",
    "serve": "vite preview --host --port 8080"
  },
```

Here are the last few lines of my build log:

```
	
2025-09-23T01:24:54.755Z [PostBuild] Successfully built 92b991e45f4d
2025-09-23T01:25:17.492Z [AppRunner] Successfully built your application source code.
2025-09-23T01:27:02.783Z [AppRunner] Failed to deploy your application source code.
```

And here is the entire deployment log:

```
2025-09-23T01:26:18.269Z /usr/bin/cd: line 2: cd: too many arguments
```

I cannot find anything else to help me diagnose what's wrong. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Thanks

kent · Accepted Answer

I found a somewhat amusing workaround that outputs a `run.sh` file during the build, then executes that in the run phase.

```
version: 1.0
runtime: nodejs22
build:
  commands:
    pre-build:
      - echo -e '#!/bin/sh\ncd showcase\nnpm run serve' > ./run.sh
      - chmod +x ./run.sh
    build:
      - npm install && npm run build
      - cd showcase && npm install && npm run build
run:
  command: ./run.sh
  network:
    port: 8080
```

This is, of course, bonkers. But I've tried all the obvious alternatives, and they all result in some kind of parsing/shell issue.

Riku_Kobayashi · Answer

Hello.

How about creating a shell script file with the build and execution commands as shown below?  
```
version: 1.0
runtime: nodejs22
build:
  commands:
    build:
      - build.sh
run:
  command: entrypoint.sh
  network:
    port: 8080
```

build.sh
```
#!/usr/bin/env bash

npm install
npm run build
cd showcase
npm install
npm run build
```

entrypoint.sh
```
#!/usr/bin/env bash

cd showcase
npm run serve
```

re:Post Agent · Answer

The error you're encountering with AWS App Runner is related to the `run` command in your `apprunner.yaml` file. The issue is with how the `cd` command is being interpreted.

In your configuration, you have:
```
run:
command: "cd showcase && npm run serve"
```

The error message `/usr/bin/cd: line 2: cd: too many arguments` suggests that the `cd` command is not being processed correctly. This is likely because App Runner is trying to execute the entire string as a single command rather than as separate commands.

To fix this issue, try modifying your `apprunner.yaml` file to use one of these approaches:

Option 1: Use the working directory setting:
```
run:
command: "npm run serve"
working-directory: "showcase"
```

Option 2: Use a shell to execute the commands:
```
run:
command: "sh -c 'cd showcase && npm run serve'"
```

Option 3: Use the full path to the directory:
```
run:
command: "cd /app/showcase && npm run serve"
```

The `apprunner.yaml` configuration file is used to instruct App Runner on how to build and start your service, and sometimes the way commands are interpreted can cause issues like this. Making one of these changes should resolve the deployment failure.  
**Sources**  
[Setting App Runner service options using a configuration file - AWS App Runner](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/apprunner/latest/dg/config-file.html)  
[Troubleshooting - AWS App Runner](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/apprunner/latest/dg/troubleshooting.html)

AppRunner deployment fails with `/usr/bin/cd: line 2: cd: too many arguments`

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