diff --git a/metagpt/tools/libs/editor.py b/metagpt/tools/libs/editor.py
index 6bb43458c..89a3f70cc 100644
--- a/metagpt/tools/libs/editor.py
+++ b/metagpt/tools/libs/editor.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ from metagpt.logs import logger
 from metagpt.tools.libs.index_repo import OTHER_TYPE, IndexRepo
 from metagpt.tools.libs.linter import Linter
 from metagpt.tools.tool_registry import register_tool
+from metagpt.utils.common import list_files
 from metagpt.utils.file import File
 from metagpt.utils.report import EditorReporter
 
@@ -866,7 +867,7 @@ class Editor(BaseModel):
         return path
 
     @staticmethod
-    async def search_index_repo(query: str, files_or_paths: List[Union[str, Path]]) -> List[str]:
+    async def search_index_repo(query: str, file_or_path: Union[str, Path]) -> List[str]:
         """Searches the index repository for a given query across specified files or paths.
 
         This method classifies the provided files or paths, performing a search on each cluster
@@ -875,13 +876,16 @@ class Editor(BaseModel):
 
         Args:
             query (str): The search query string to look for in the indexed files.
-            files_or_paths (List[Union[str, Path]]): A list of file paths or names to search within.
+            file_or_path (Union[str, Path]): A path or a filename to search within.
 
         Returns:
             List[str]: A list of search results as strings, containing the text from the merged results
                         and any direct results from other files.
         """
-        clusters, roots = IndexRepo.classify_path(files_or_paths)
+        if not file_or_path or not Path(file_or_path).exists():
+            raise ValueError(f'"{str(file_or_path)}" not exists')
+        files = [file_or_path] if not Path(file_or_path).is_dir() else list_files(file_or_path)
+        clusters, roots = IndexRepo.classify_path(files)
         futures = []
         others = set()
         for persist_path, filenames in clusters.items():
diff --git a/metagpt/tools/libs/index_repo.py b/metagpt/tools/libs/index_repo.py
index 216304e93..7de6bce5e 100644
--- a/metagpt/tools/libs/index_repo.py
+++ b/metagpt/tools/libs/index_repo.py
@@ -85,7 +85,9 @@ class IndexRepo(BaseModel):
         """
         encoding = tiktoken.get_encoding("cl100k_base")
         result: List[Union[NodeWithScore, TextScore]] = []
-        filenames, _ = await self._filter(filenames)
+        filenames, excludes = await self._filter(filenames)
+        if not filenames:
+            raise ValueError(f"Unsupported file types: {[str(i) for i in excludes]}")
         filter_filenames = set()
         meta = await self._read_meta()
         for i in filenames:
@@ -269,7 +271,7 @@ class IndexRepo(BaseModel):
             List[NodeWithScore]: A list of nodes with scores matching the query.
         """
         if not Path(self.persist_path).exists():
-            return []
+            raise ValueError(f"IndexRepo {Path(self.persist_path).name} not exists.")
         engine = SimpleEngine.from_index(
             index_config=FAISSIndexConfig(persist_path=self.persist_path), retriever_configs=[FAISSRetrieverConfig()]
         )
@@ -293,11 +295,11 @@ class IndexRepo(BaseModel):
         return old_fp != fp
 
     @staticmethod
-    def classify_path(files_or_paths: List[Union[str, Path]]) -> Tuple[Dict[str, Set[Path]], Dict[str, str]]:
+    def classify_path(files: List[Union[str, Path]]) -> Tuple[Dict[str, Set[Path]], Dict[str, str]]:
         """Classify a list of file paths or Path objects into different categories.
 
         Args:
-            files_or_paths (List[Union[str, Path]]): A list of file paths or Path objects to be classified.
+            files (List[Union[str, Path]]): A list of file paths or Path objects to be classified.
 
         Returns:
             Tuple[Dict[str, Set[Path]], Dict[str, str]]:
@@ -311,7 +313,7 @@ class IndexRepo(BaseModel):
 
         clusters = {}
         roots = {}
-        for i in files_or_paths:
+        for i in files:
             path = Path(i).absolute()
             path_type = OTHER_TYPE
             for type_, pattern in mappings.items():
diff --git a/tests/metagpt/tools/libs/test_editor.py b/tests/metagpt/tools/libs/test_editor.py
index 20857b97f..c601ee5a4 100644
--- a/tests/metagpt/tools/libs/test_editor.py
+++ b/tests/metagpt/tools/libs/test_editor.py
@@ -670,6 +670,7 @@ async def mock_index_repo():
         persist_path=str(Path(CHATS_INDEX_ROOT) / chat_id), root_path=str(chat_path), min_token_count=0
     )
     await chat_repo.add(chat_files)
+    assert chat_files
 
     Path(UPLOAD_ROOT).mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     command = f"cp -rf {str(src_path)} {str(UPLOAD_ROOT)}"
@@ -678,21 +679,27 @@ async def mock_index_repo():
     uploads_files = [i for i in filenames if Path(i).suffix in {".md", ".txt", ".json", ".pdf"}]
     uploads_repo = IndexRepo(persist_path=UPLOADS_INDEX_ROOT, root_path=UPLOAD_ROOT, min_token_count=0)
     await uploads_repo.add(uploads_files)
+    assert uploads_files
 
     filenames = list_files(src_path)
     other_files = [i for i in filenames if Path(i).suffix in {".md", ".txt", ".json", ".pdf"}]
+    assert other_files
 
-    return chat_files, uploads_files, other_files
+    return chat_path, UPLOAD_ROOT, src_path
 
 
 @pytest.mark.skip
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_index_repo():
     # mock data
-    chat_files, uploads_files, other_files = await mock_index_repo()
+    chat_path, UPLOAD_ROOT, src_path = await mock_index_repo()
 
     editor = Editor()
-    rsp = await editor.search_index_repo(query="业务线", files_or_paths=chat_files + uploads_files + other_files)
+    rsp = await editor.search_index_repo(query="业务线", file_or_path=chat_path)
+    assert rsp
+    rsp = await editor.search_index_repo(query="业务线", file_or_path=UPLOAD_ROOT)
+    assert rsp
+    rsp = await editor.search_index_repo(query="业务线", file_or_path=src_path)
     assert rsp
 
     shutil.rmtree(CHATS_ROOT)