ENOENT error in gulp.src when glob pattern does not match any files

Direct answer

When gulp.src receives a glob that matches no files, it emits an ENOENT error on the vinyl stream. Attach an error handler to decide whether the build should fail or treat the empty match as acceptable. Do not use ENOENT as control flow; if missing files are expected, check with fs or loosen the glob instead.

Handling the ENOENT error

gulp.src('src/**/*.js')
  .on('error', err => {
    if (err.code === 'ENOENT') {
      console.warn('No source files matched – verify paths or allow empty match');
      // emit() to continue or throw to fail
    }
  })
  .pipe(gulp.dest('dist'));

If empty matches are valid, prefer a pre‑check with Node's fs.existsSync or a glob that permits zero results, rather than relying on the error.

Watcher lifecycle and listener accumulation

gulp.watch returns the underlying chokidar watcher; gulp does not close it when the task function ends. Store the returned watcher and call watcher.close() when you want to stop watching (e.g., on process shutdown). Reuse a single watcher per glob and register change listeners once to avoid MaxListenersExceededWarning. Use the ignoreInitial option to suppress events for files that exist at startup.

const watcher = gulp.watch('src/**/*.js', { ignoreInitial: true }, gulp.series('build'));
// later, e.g. on SIGINT
process.on('SIGINT', async () => {
  await watcher.close();
  process.exit(0);
});

Listener growth usually comes from creating a new watcher inside a repeatedly invoked task or adding listeners per change event, not from a chokidar defect.

Verification steps

• Run a task with gulp.src('nonexistent/**/*.js') and an error handler; confirm the ENOENT error is caught and the build behaves as you chose.
• Execute node --trace-warnings ./node_modules/.bin/gulp watch and watch the listener count; it should stay steady when you reuse one watcher.
• Call watcher.close() on the stored watcher and verify the process exits cleanly and file descriptors are released.