apple/pkl · error · CliException

noPackageDefinedByProject

noPackageDefinedByProject

Error message

ErrorMessages.create("noPackageDefinedByProject", project.projectFileUri)

What it means

Thrown by CliProjectPackager.doRun when a loaded PklProject has no `package` block. Only projects that define a package (name, version, etc. inside the `package {...}` section of PklProject) can be packaged with `pkl project package`. The check is `project.package ?: throw`, so the packaging aborts with the noPackageDefinedByProject message containing the project file URI.

Source

Thrown at pkl-cli/src/main/kotlin/org/pkl/cli/CliProjectPackager.kt:62

      CliTestRunner(
        cliOptions.copy(sourceModules = normalizeApiTests, projectDir = project.projectDir),
        testOptions = testOptions,
        consoleWriter = consoleWriter,
        errWriter = errWriter,
      )
    try {
      testRunner.run()
    } catch (e: CliTestException) {
      throw CliException(ErrorMessages.create("packageTestsFailed", project.`package`!!.uri()))
    }
  }

  override fun doRun() {
    val projects = buildList {
      for (projectFile in normalizedProjectFiles) {
        val project = loadProject(projectFile)
        project.`package`
          ?: throw CliException(
            ErrorMessages.create("noPackageDefinedByProject", project.projectFileUri)
          )
        runApiTests(project)
        add(project)
      }
    }
    // Require that all local projects are included
    projects.forEach { proj ->
      proj.dependencies.localDependencies().values.forEach { localDep ->
        val projectDir = Path.of(localDep.projectFileUri()).parent
        if (projects.none { it.projectDir == projectDir }) {
          throw CliException(
            ErrorMessages.create("missingProjectInPackageCommand", proj.projectDir, projectDir)
          )
        }
      }
    }
    ProjectPackager(

View on GitHub (pinned to f3efcbfc9b)

Solutions

Add a `package { name = ...; version = ...; ... }` block to the PklProject file
Confirm you are packaging the correct project file (the one meant to be published)
Regenerate the PklProject with `pkl project init` and re-add package metadata

Example fix

// before (PklProject)
project {
  name = "myproj"
}
// after
project {
  name = "myproj"
}
package {
  name = "myproj.pkg"
  version = "1.0.0"
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

grep -q '^package {' PklProject || echo 'no package block: cannot package'

Prevention

Add a package block before attempting to publish
Only run `pkl project package` on projects intended as packages

When it happens

Trigger: Running `pkl project package <PklProject>` where the PklProject file only contains a `project {}` (or no) declaration and lacks a `package {}` block; passing a dependency-only project file to the packager.

Common situations: Trying to package a plain project (consumer-only) that was never given package metadata; an old PklProject predating packaging support; deleting the package block by accident.

Understand the failure class

Background: "is required", "must be set", "missing required field": configuration validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 36 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of apple/pkl@f3efcbfc9b (2026-09-08). Data as JSON: /api/errors/392e6f333e33d099. Report an issue: GitHub.