Referenced Resource Not Found
Q-5-6 — Referenced Resource Not Found
A document references a resource file (such as an image) whose source does not exist, so it could not be copied into the output.
What this means
When a document references a local file — most commonly an
image, e.g.  — Quarto copies that
file into the rendered output so the link resolves in the
published site. This warning fires when the referenced source
file does not exist on disk: there is nothing to copy.
The same check applies to markdown images in website
configuration — a page-footer region or item text: in
_quarto.yml. Those references are project-wide, so a missing
file there warns once per render (not once per page), with the
diagnostic pointing at the reference inside the configuration
file.
This is a warning, not an error. The render continues and produces output; the missing file is simply left out. The diagnostic points at the reference in your source document (or configuration file) so you can see exactly which link is affected.
Why this happens
Common causes:
- A typo in the path — wrong directory, wrong extension, or a misspelled filename.
- A file that was moved or deleted but whose reference was left behind.
- A path that is relative to the wrong directory — a
document-relative path resolves against the directory
containing the document, not the project root. (A leading
/makes it project-root-relative.) - A generated file that was expected from a code cell or an earlier build step that did not actually produce it.
How to fix
Check the path in the reported reference against what is on disk:
- Correct the path if it is a typo.
- Add the missing file if it should exist.
- If the reference is intentional but the file is produced later (e.g. by a separate build step), make sure that step runs before the render.
If the file genuinely should not be referenced, remove the reference.