can1357/oh-my-pi · error · Error

package.json must have a valid name field

Error message

package.json must have a valid name field

What it means

After successfully parsing the manifest, linkPlugin requires a non-empty string `name` field, since the name is used to place the symlink under plugins/node_modules. This error is thrown when package.json parses but has no usable name.

Source

Thrown at packages/coding-agent/src/extensibility/plugins/installer.ts:167

	if (!normalizedPath.startsWith(`${normalizedCwd}/`) && normalizedPath !== normalizedCwd) {
		throw new Error(`Invalid path: ${localPath} resolves outside working directory`);
	}

	// Validate package.json exists
	const pkgFile = Bun.file(path.join(absolutePath, "package.json"));
	if (!(await pkgFile.exists())) {
		throw new Error(`package.json not found at ${absolutePath}`);
	}

	let pkg: { name?: string };
	try {
		pkg = await pkgFile.json();
	} catch (err) {
		throw new Error(`Invalid package.json at ${absolutePath}: ${err}`);
	}

	if (!pkg.name || typeof pkg.name !== "string") {
		throw new Error("package.json must have a valid name field");
	}

	// Validate package name to prevent path traversal via pkg.name
	if (pkg.name.includes("..") || pkg.name.includes("/") || pkg.name.includes("\\")) {
		// Exception: scoped packages have one slash
		if (!pkg.name.startsWith("@") || (pkg.name.match(/\//g) || []).length !== 1) {
			throw new Error(`Invalid package name in package.json: ${pkg.name}`);
		}
	}

	await ensurePluginsDir();

	// Create symlink in plugins/node_modules
	const linkPath = path.join(PLUGINS_DIR, "node_modules", pkg.name);

	// For scoped packages, ensure the scope directory exists
	if (pkg.name.startsWith("@")) {
		const scopeDir = path.join(PLUGINS_DIR, "node_modules", pkg.name.split("/")[0]);

View on GitHub (pinned to 9690622007)

Solutions

1. Add a valid npm-style `name` field to the target package.json
2. Ensure the name is a non-empty string without `..`, backslashes, or extra slashes (scoped names with exactly one slash are allowed)
3. Re-run linkPlugin after fixing the manifest

Example fix

// before
{ "version": "1.0.0" }
// after
{ "name": "my-plugin", "version": "1.0.0" }

const pkg = await Bun.file(path.join(dir, "package.json")).json();
if (typeof pkg.name !== "string" || pkg.name.length === 0) {
	throw new Error(`package at ${dir} needs a non-empty string "name"`);
}

function hasValidName(pkg: unknown): pkg is { name: string } {
	return typeof (pkg as { name?: unknown })?.name === "string" && (pkg as { name: string }).name.length > 0;
}

try {
	await linkPlugin(dir);
} catch (err) {
	if (err instanceof Error && err.message === "package.json must have a valid name field") {
		// add a name field then retry
	}
	throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: linkPlugin(localPath, cwd) targets a package.json where `name` is missing, empty string, null, or a non-string (number/object) — common for private scratch packages and fresh `npm init -y` outputs that inherited no name in unusual setups.

Common situations: Private libraries with `"name": ""` or omitted name; manifests written by custom tooling that only includes dependencies; hand-built test fixtures missing the name field.

Related errors

• OpenAI Files API upload response is missing a file id
• ${destination} response did not include ${key}
• Invalid package name: ${name}
• Invalid characters in package name: ${name}
• Invalid path: ${localPath} resolves outside working director

AI-assisted analysis of can1357/oh-my-pi@9690622007 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/56003b45e0cab098. Report an issue: GitHub.