Budibase/budibase · error · HTTPError

Project package is missing manifest.json.

Error message

Project package is missing manifest.json.

What it means

Every project package must include a manifest.json at the archive root. extractProjectPackage() probes for it with fsp.access and, when it is absent, throws this HTTP 400 at imports.ts:969-971. Without the manifest the importer cannot determine package metadata, so the import is rejected.

Source

Thrown at packages/server/src/sdk/workspace/projects/backups/imports.ts:970

          ![
            PROJECT_MANIFEST_FILE,
            PROJECT_FILE,
            PROJECT_DEPENDENCY_INDEX_FILE,
            PROJECT_DOCS_DIRECTORY,
          ].includes(entry)
      )
    ) {
      throw new HTTPError("Project package contains unsupported files.", 400)
    }

    const manifestPath = join(tmpPath, PROJECT_MANIFEST_FILE)
    const projectPath = join(tmpPath, PROJECT_FILE)
    const dependencyIndexPath = join(tmpPath, PROJECT_DEPENDENCY_INDEX_FILE)
    const docsPath = join(tmpPath, PROJECT_DOCS_DIRECTORY)

    await Promise.all([
      fsp.access(manifestPath).catch(() => {
        throw new HTTPError("Project package is missing manifest.json.", 400)
      }),
      fsp.access(projectPath).catch(() => {
        throw new HTTPError("Project package is missing project.json.", 400)
      }),
      fsp.access(dependencyIndexPath).catch(() => {
        throw new HTTPError(
          "Project package is missing dependency-index.json.",
          400
        )
      }),
    ])

    const [manifest, project, dependencyIndex] = await Promise.all([
      readJsonFile<ProjectPackageManifest>(manifestPath),
      readJsonFile<Project>(projectPath),
      readJsonFile<ProjectPackageDependencyIndex>(dependencyIndexPath),
    ])

View on GitHub (pinned to a81a902e9a)

Solutions

1. Re-export the project package from the source workspace so a valid manifest.json is included
2. Verify the archive actually contains manifest.json at the root (tar -tf pkg.tgz | grep manifest)
3. If unarchiving/re-archiving manually, don't drop manifest.json from the root
4. Re-download the package — the original may have been truncated or corrupted in transit

Example fix

null

import { createReadStream } from 'fs'
import { parse } from 'tar'
const hasManifest = await new Promise<boolean>((resolve, reject) => {
  const ws = parse({ onReadEntry: (e: any) => { if (e.path === 'manifest.json') { resolve(true); ws.abort?.() } }, onEnd: () => resolve(false) })
  createReadStream(packagePath).pipe(ws as any)
  ws.on('error', reject)
})
if (!hasManifest) throw new Error('package is missing manifest.json at archive root')

function hasRequiredRootFiles(entries: readonly string[]): entries is readonly string[] {
  const required = ['manifest.json', 'project.json', 'dependency-index.json']
  return required.every(f => entries.includes(f))
}

try {
  await importProjectPackage(file)
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof HTTPError && err.status === 400 && err.message === 'Project package is missing manifest.json.') {
    // obtain a complete package: re-export from the source workspace
  } else {
    throw err
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Importing a package tarball whose root has no manifest.json — the fsp.access(manifestPath) promise rejects at imports.ts:968-971 inside the Promise.all validation.

Common situations: Importing an archive of just project docs or a partial extraction; hand-assembling a package and forgetting the manifest; a truncated or corrupted tarball missing entries; importing an artifact type that never had a manifest.

Related errors

• Project package is missing project.json.
• Project package is missing dependency-index.json.
• Project package is too large.
• Unsupported Project doc path '${relPath}'.
• Project package contains a doc without an id.

AI-assisted analysis of Budibase/budibase@a81a902e9a (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/72bb7397ac97b1e0. Report an issue: GitHub.