---
title: "Why do I get a 'Cannot understand what targets. Check if you specified valid targets' error when I run catalyst serve?"
url: https://docs.catalyst.zoho.com/en/faq/cli/cli-targets-serve/
description: "If you encounter this error while executing catalyst serve, you can resolve it in the following ways: Ensure you are in the correct folder path when you serve …"
last_updated: 2026-11-13T05:00:22Z
service: All Services
type: faq
---

If you encounter this error while executing `[catalyst serve](https://docs.catalyst.zoho.com/en/cli/v1/serve-resources/introduction/)`, you can resolve it in the following ways:

* Ensure you are in the correct folder path when you serve targets.
* Ensure your project directory is not empty and contains at least one resource that can be served. Catalyst can serve function endpoints of types Basic I/O and Advanced I/O, client, and AppSail resources. You can also pull the latest code of your resources from the Catalyst console to your local system through the `[catalyst pull](https://docs.catalyst.zoho.com/en/cli/v1/pull-resources/introduction/)` command, before you serve it.