What causes "Could not load watchTargets from config." in MagicMirrorOrg/MagicMirror?

Validate config.js syntax (node --check config/config.js) and fix any errors

Could not load watchTargets from config.

Error message

Could not load watchTargets from config.

What it means

The whole watch-target loading block is wrapped in try/catch; if reading or parsing config fails (file missing, invalid JS, throwing getter), the catch logs this warning and the watcher ends up with no configured targets from config. Watch mode then has no targets to monitor, similar to error 80.

Source

Thrown at serveronly/watcher.js:253

			: path.join(rootDir, target);

		// Check if file exists
		if (!fs.existsSync(targetPath)) {
			Log.warn(`Watch target does not exist: ${targetPath}`);
			continue;
		}

		// Check if it's a file (directories are not supported)
		const stats = fs.statSync(targetPath);
		if (stats.isFile()) {
			watchFile(targetPath);
		} else {
			Log.warn(`Watch target is not a file (directories not supported): ${targetPath}`);
		}
	}
} catch {
	// Config file might not exist or be invalid, use fallback targets
	Log.warn("Could not load watchTargets from config.");
}

process.on("SIGINT", () => {
	isShuttingDown = true;
	if (restartTimer) clearTimeout(restartTimer);
	if (child) child.kill("SIGTERM");
	process.exit(0);
});

View on GitHub (pinned to 4b4a59534f)

Solutions

Validate config.js syntax (node --check config/config.js) and fix any errors
Ensure the config file exists at the expected path relative to rootDir
Check server logs from config loading for the underlying exception
Restore a known-good config and re-apply changes incrementally

Example fix

// before (config.js with syntax error)
var config = { address: "0.0.0.0";; };
// after
var config = { address: "0.0.0.0" };

Defensive patterns

Strategy: fallback

Validate before calling

let watchTargets = [];
try {
  const cfg = require(configPath);
  watchTargets = Array.isArray(cfg.watchTargets) ? cfg.watchTargets : [];
} catch (err) {
  console.error("Failed to load config:", err.message);
}

Type guard

function configLoads(configPath) {
  try { require(configPath); return true; } catch { return false; }
}

Try / catch

try {
  const cfg = require(configPath);
  useTargets(cfg.watchTargets);
} catch (err) {
  Log.warn("Could not load watchTargets from config.");
  useFallbackTargets();
}

Prevention

Run node --check on config.js after every edit
Keep a backup of the last working config
Log the underlying exception, not just a generic message, to ease debugging

When it happens

Trigger: The config file cannot be loaded at runtime: config.js missing, contains a JavaScript syntax error or throws during evaluation, or the config-loading require/import throws for any reason.

Common situations: Broken config.js after a manual edit (unbalanced braces, stray comma); environment where the config path resolution differs (containers, systemd units with wrong WorkingDirectory); partially migrated configs referencing removed modules that throw on load.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of MagicMirrorOrg/MagicMirror@4b4a59534f (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/18fda78376ef32b0. Report an issue: GitHub.