`generate_project_dashboard.py --all` fails with FileNotFoundError when no projects exist

[liyx2004]

Description

When using a fresh clone of the repository without any existing experiment projects, running the dashboard generation command from the README fails with a FileNotFoundError.

The command appears to assume that data/projects/ already exists, but this directory is not present in a clean checkout before any projects are created.

Steps to reproduce

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/EvoMap/AutoResearch.git
cd AutoResearch

2. Do not create any experiment projects.

3. Run the dashboard generation command:

python src/generate_project_dashboard.py --all

4. The command exits with an error:

FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '.../AutoResearch/data/projects'

Expected behavior

The dashboard generator should handle the case where there are no projects yet.

Possible expected behaviors:

• Generate an empty dashboard successfully, e.g. showing 0 projects
• Or provide a user-friendly message indicating that no projects exist yet

A missing data/projects/ directory should not cause a Python traceback.

Actual behavior

The script fails because data/projects/ does not exist.

Creating the directory manually resolves the issue:

mkdir -p data/projects
python src/generate_project_dashboard.py --all

Output:

Generated .../AutoResearch/dashboard_index.html (0 projects)

Environment

• OS: macOS arm64
• Python: 3.12.13
• GPU: Not required
• API key: Not required

Additional context

This affects the first-run experience for new users following the README instructions.

Since the dashboard command is documented as a standalone workflow, it would be helpful if it could run successfully on a fresh checkout with zero projects.