avajs/ava · error · Error

The ‘helpers’ override must be an array containing glob patt

Error message

The ‘helpers’ override must be an array containing glob patterns.

What it means

Validation guard in load(): a helpers override was supplied but is not a non-empty array of glob patterns (wrong type, null, or empty array). The input at fault is overrides.helpers; load refuses to build helper matchers from an unusable pattern list.

Source

Thrown at entrypoints/eslint-plugin-helper.js:71

	if (globsOrError instanceof Error) {
		throw globsOrError;
	}

	return globsOrError;
};

const helperCache = new Map();

export function load(projectDir, overrides) {
	const cacheKey = `${JSON.stringify(overrides)}\n${projectDir}`;
	if (helperCache.has(cacheKey)) {
		return helperCache.get(cacheKey);
	}

	let helperPatterns = [];
	if (overrides && overrides.helpers !== undefined) {
		if (!Array.isArray(overrides.helpers) || overrides.helpers.length === 0) {
			throw new Error('The \u2018helpers\u2019 override must be an array containing glob patterns.');
		}

		helperPatterns = normalizePatterns(overrides.helpers);
	}

	const globs = resolveGlobsSync(projectDir, overrides && overrides.extensions, overrides && overrides.files);

	const classifyForESLint = file => {
		const {isTest} = classify(file, globs);
		let isHelper = false;
		if (!isTest && hasExtension(globs.extensions, file)) {
			file = normalizeFileForMatching(projectDir, file);
			isHelper = isHelperish(file) || (helperPatterns.length > 0 && matches(file, helperPatterns));
		}

		return {isHelper, isTest};
	};

View on GitHub (pinned to bbfd946322)

Solutions

1. Pass helpers as an array of glob strings, e.g. {helpers: ['helpers/**/*.js']}
2. Remove the helpers key entirely if no helpers are needed (empty array is not accepted)
3. Check that the overrides object is not nested or JSON-parsed incorrectly before reaching load()

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at entrypoints/eslint-plugin-helper.js:71 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of avajs/ava@bbfd946322 (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/92880a48a69fc9ac. Report an issue: GitHub.