angular/angular-cli · error · Error

Package ${JSON.stringify(name)} was not found in package.jso

Error message

Package ${JSON.stringify(name)} was not found in package.json.

What it means

_buildLocalPackageInfo requires the package being updated to appear in the workspace's dependency ranges (dependencies/devDependencies read from package.json). _buildLocalPackageInfo throws when allDependencies.get(name) returns nothing, i.e. the package name isn't declared in package.json, so no version range can be resolved for the update plan.

Source

Thrown at packages/angular/cli/src/commands/update/update-resolver.ts:435

  } catch {}

  return null;
}

function getInstalledVersion(packageName: string, workspaceRoot: string): string | null {
  const pkgJson = getInstalledPackageJson(packageName, workspaceRoot);

  return pkgJson?.version ?? null;
}

function _buildLocalPackageInfo(
  name: string,
  allDependencies: ReadonlyMap<string, VersionRange>,
  workspaceRoot: string,
): PackageInfo {
  const packageJsonRange = allDependencies.get(name);
  if (!packageJsonRange) {
    throw new Error(`Package ${JSON.stringify(name)} was not found in package.json.`);
  }

  const localPkgJson = getInstalledPackageJson(name, workspaceRoot);
  if (!localPkgJson) {
    throw new Error(`Package ${name} is not installed.`);
  }

  const installedVersion = localPkgJson.version;
  const npmPackageJson: PackageMetadata = {
    name,
    versions: [installedVersion],
    'dist-tags': {},
  };

  const logger = new logging.NullLogger();

  return {
    name,

View on GitHub (pinned to bb72145f9a)

Solutions

Verify the name is listed in package.json dependencies/devDependencies (`npm ls <name>`).
Fix typos in the package name passed to ng update.
If updating a transitive package, update its direct parent instead: `ng update <parent>` or `npm update <name>`.
Install the package first (`npm install <name>`) if you actually depend on it, then update.

Example fix

// before
ng update @angular-devkit/build-angular  # not in package.json, only transitive
// error: Package "@angular-devkit/build-angular" was not found in package.json.
// after
ng update @angular/cli  # the declared direct dependency

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const pkgJson = require('./package.json');
const declared = { ...pkgJson.dependencies, ...pkgJson.devDependencies };
if (!declared[name]) {
  throw new Error(`${name} is not a direct dependency; update its parent instead`);
}

Type guard

function isDirectDependency(name: string, pkgJson: { dependencies?: Record<string,string>; devDependencies?: Record<string,string> }): boolean {
  return name in (pkgJson.dependencies ?? {}) || name in (pkgJson.devDependencies ?? {});
}

Prevention

Only pass direct dependencies to ng update; check package.json first.
Use `npm ls <name>` to confirm the package is declared at the workspace root.
Fix name typos by copying from package.json.

When it happens

Trigger: Running `ng update <name>` for a package not listed in package.json (e.g. a transitive dependency, a typo, or a package only present in another sub-project), while it is installed in node_modules.

Common situations: Updating transitive dependencies directly; typos in package names; workspaces/monorepos where the package is a dependency of a nested package.json, not the root; leftovers removed from package.json but still in node_modules.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of angular/angular-cli@bb72145f9a (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d70b78e7445af4b2. Report an issue: GitHub.