chroma-core/chroma · error · Error

Please install the @google/generative-ai package to use the

Error message

Please install the @google/generative-ai package to use the GoogleGenerativeAiEmbeddingFunction, `npm install @google/generative-ai`

What it means

GoogleGenerativeAiEmbeddingFunction.loadClient() lazily dynamic-imports the optional @google/generative-ai SDK on the first generate() call. If that import fails with MODULE_NOT_FOUND, this install-hint error is thrown; any other import failure is re-thrown raw. The SDK is optional so chromadb-core does not force it on users who embed with other providers.

Source

Thrown at clients/js/packages/chromadb-core/src/embeddings/GoogleGeminiEmbeddingFunction.ts:59

    this.api_key = apiKey;
    this.api_key_env_var = apiKeyEnvVar;
    this.model = model;
    this.taskType = taskType;
  }

  private async loadClient() {
    if (this.googleGenAiApi) return;
    try {
      // eslint-disable-next-line global-require,import/no-extraneous-dependencies
      const { googleGenAi } =
        await GoogleGenerativeAiEmbeddingFunction.import();
      googleGenAiApi = googleGenAi;
      // googleGenAiApi.init(this.api_key);
      googleGenAiApi = new googleGenAiApi(this.api_key);
    } catch (_a) {
      // @ts-ignore
      if (_a.code === "MODULE_NOT_FOUND") {
        throw new Error(
          "Please install the @google/generative-ai package to use the GoogleGenerativeAiEmbeddingFunction, `npm install @google/generative-ai`",
        );
      }
      throw _a; // Re-throw other errors
    }
    this.googleGenAiApi = googleGenAiApi;
  }

  public async generate(texts: string[]) {
    await this.loadClient();
    const model = this.googleGenAiApi.getGenerativeModel({ model: this.model });
    const response = await model.batchEmbedContents({
      requests: texts.map((t) => ({
        content: { parts: [{ text: t }] },
        taskType: this.taskType,
      })),
    });
    const embeddings = response.embeddings.map((e: any) => e.values);

View on GitHub (pinned to aecdd12c8a)

Solutions

npm install @google/generative-ai in the executing app, then retry
Or switch to an embedding function whose dependency you already ship (ONNXMiniLM, OpenAI, etc.)
If installed but still failing, test the import directly: node -e "import('@google/generative-ai').then(()=>console.log('ok'),e=>console.error(e))" and fix the underlying resolution error
Reinstall cleanly with a committed lockfile (npm ci) to repair a partially installed tree

Example fix

// before
const ef = new GoogleGenerativeAiEmbeddingFunction({ googleApiKey: KEY, model: "embedding-001" });
await ef.generate(["ping"]); // -> Please install the @google/generative-ai package...

// after
// $ npm install @google/generative-ai
await ef.generate(["ping"]); // ok

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

async function googleGenAiAvailable(): Promise<boolean> {
  try {
    await import("@google/generative-ai");
    return true;
  } catch {
    return false;
  }
}
// before creating a collection that uses the Google embedding function:
if (!(await googleGenAiAvailable())) throw new Error("Install @google/generative-ai to use Google embeddings");

Try / catch

try {
  await collection.add({ ids, documents });
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && /@google\/generative-ai/.test(e.message)) {
    // dependency missing: install the SDK or switch embedding function
  }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

Smoke-test the first generate() at startup, not on the first user request
List every provider SDK you use as an explicit dependency in the deploying app's package.json
Run npm ci in build pipelines to keep optional deps consistent

When it happens

Trigger: Creating a collection with the Google embedding function and triggering the first generate()/add() in a project where @google/generative-ai is not installed.

Common situations: Installing chromadb without the Google SDK; monorepo hoisting issues; bundlers producing errors without .code (then a raw error appears instead); Docker images built from a trimmed dependency set.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of chroma-core/chroma@aecdd12c8a (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/98cbc4cd49677287. Report an issue: GitHub.