angular/angular · error · RuntimeError

DEF_TYPE_UNDEFINED

DEF_TYPE_UNDEFINED

Error message

Cannot read ${symbolType} metadata. This can indicate a runtime circular dependency in your app that needs to be resolved.

What it means

Error "Cannot read ${symbolType} metadata. This can indicate a runtime circular dependency in your app that needs to be resolved." thrown in angular/angular.

Source

Thrown at packages/core/src/render3/def_getters.ts:68

        `Type ${stringify(type)} does not have 'ɵdir' property.`,
    );
  }
  return def;
}

export function getDirectiveDef<T>(type: any): DirectiveDef<T> | null {
  assertTypeDefined(type, '@Directive');
  return type[NG_DIR_DEF] || null;
}

export function getPipeDef<T>(type: any): PipeDef<T> | null {
  assertTypeDefined(type, '@Pipe');
  return type[NG_PIPE_DEF] || null;
}

function assertTypeDefined(type: any, symbolType: string): void {
  if (type == null) {
    throw new RuntimeError(
      RuntimeErrorCode.DEF_TYPE_UNDEFINED,
      (typeof ngDevMode === 'undefined' || ngDevMode) &&
        `Cannot read ${symbolType} metadata. This can indicate a runtime ` +
          `circular dependency in your app that needs to be resolved.`,
    );
  }
}

/**
 * Checks whether a given Component, Directive or Pipe is marked as standalone.
 * This will return false if passed anything other than a Component, Directive, or Pipe class
 *
 * @param type A reference to a Component, Directive or Pipe.
 * @publicApi
 */
export function isStandalone(type: Type<unknown>): boolean {
  const def = getComponentDef(type) || getDirectiveDef(type) || getPipeDef(type);
  return def !== null && def.standalone;

View on GitHub (pinned to 51cb07e980)

Solutions

1. Resolve the runtime circular dependency (restructure imports or use forwardRef).

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/core/src/render3/def_getters.ts:68 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of angular/angular@51cb07e980 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0a659649838f3a35. Report an issue: GitHub.