What causes "Options have not yet been set" in avajs/ava?

Ensure the code runs inside an AVA test process launched by the AVA CLI.

avajs/ava · error · Error

Options have not yet been set

Error message

Options have not yet been set

What it means

AVA worker options (test file path, config, etc.) are injected by the AVA CLI at startup via set(). get() throws this Error when called before options were ever set — i.e. code that depends on the worker options module is running outside an AVA-managed test process, or runs before AVA's bootstrap.

Source

Thrown at lib/worker/options.js:4

let options = null;
export function get() {
	if (!options) {
		throw new Error('Options have not yet been set');
	}

	return options;
}

export function set(newOptions) {
	if (options) {
		throw new Error('Options have already been set');
	}

	options = newOptions;
}

View on GitHub (pinned to bbfd946322)

Solutions

Ensure the code runs inside an AVA test process launched by the AVA CLI.
Defer option access until test execution time (not at module import) so set() has already run.
If building tooling around AVA, pass configuration explicitly instead of relying on worker options.

Example fix

// before
import {get} from './worker/options.js';
const opts = get(); // module top-level, options not set yet

// after
import {get} from './worker/options.js';
export function computeSomething() {
  const opts = get(); // called during test run
  ...
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

import {get} from './worker/options.js';
function safeGet() {
  try { return get(); } catch { return null; } // null means not running under AVA yet
}

Try / catch

let opts;
try {
  opts = get();
} catch (err) {
  if (err.message === 'Options have not yet been set') {
    opts = defaultOptions; // or defer until after AVA bootstrap
  } else throw err;
}

Prevention

Access options lazily during test execution, not at module import time
Only run code depending on worker options inside AVA test processes
Avoid circular imports that reach options.js before bootstrap

When it happens

Trigger: Importing/using lib/worker/options.js get() from a module loaded at top level before AVA initializes the worker; running code that depends on AVA internals outside the AVA CLI; an internal module reading options during module import instead of lazily at test time.

Common situations: Running a test-support module directly with node; importing worker-internal modules from user code; circular imports causing options.js to be consulted before the CLI's bootstrap ran.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of avajs/ava@bbfd946322 (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/eb0c8df183a959fd. Report an issue: GitHub.