clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB · error · anyhow::Error

Could not find module source at '{}'. If this is not correct

Error message

Could not find module source at '{}'. If this is not correct, pass --module-path or add module-path in spacetime.json. You can also pass --bin-path/--js-path to generate without building from source,

What it means

When neither `--bin-path` nor `--js-path` is supplied, `spacetime generate` builds your module from source, so the module directory (resolved from `--module-path`, the spacetime.json `module-path` field, or a default location) must exist and be a directory. If it doesn't, generate aborts before invoking any build toolchain. Passing a prebuilt artifact path skips this check entirely.

Source

Thrown at crates/cli/src/subcommands/generate.rs:354

            command_config.get_one::<u8>("dotnet_version")?
        } else {
            let dotnet_version = command_config.get_one::<String>("dotnet_version")?;
            parse_optional_dotnet_version(dotnet_version.as_deref())?
        };

        // Validate Unreal-specific args first to preserve focused errors for this mode.
        if requested_lang == Some(Language::UnrealCpp) {
            if command_config.get_one::<PathBuf>("uproject_dir")?.is_none() {
                return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("--uproject-dir is required for --lang unrealcpp"));
            }
            if module_name.is_none() {
                return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("--unreal-module-name is required for --lang unrealcpp"));
            }
        }

        // Validate module source path for source-based generation.
        if wasm_file.is_none() && js_file.is_none() && !project_path.is_dir() {
            anyhow::bail!(
                "Could not find module source at '{}'. \
                 If this is not correct, pass --module-path or add module-path in spacetime.json. \
                 You can also pass --bin-path/--js-path to generate without building from source.",
                project_path.display()
            );
        }

        let lang = match requested_lang {
            Some(lang) => lang,
            None => {
                let client_project_dir = config_dir.unwrap_or_else(|| Path::new("."));
                let detected = detect_default_language(client_project_dir)?;
                println!(
                    "Detected client language '{}' from '{}'. If this is not correct, pass --lang or add a generate target in spacetime.json.",
                    language_cli_name(detected),
                    client_project_dir.display()
                );
                detected

View on GitHub (pinned to 524b4487d9)

Solutions

1. Run from the project root that contains the module directory, or pass `--module-path path/to/module`
2. Set `"module-path"` on the target in spacetime.json
3. Skip the build with `--bin-path target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/module.wasm` (or `--js-path` for TypeScript modules)
4. Check the path for typos and case sensitivity

Example fix

# before — fails: ./module does not exist
spacetime generate

# after — build from source elsewhere
spacetime generate --module-path crates/server-module

# after — no build, use prebuilt wasm
spacetime generate --bin-path target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/module.wasm

# Before generate-from-source, verify the module dir:
MODULE_DIR="${MODULE_PATH:-module}"
if [[ -z "$BIN_PATH" && -z "$JS_PATH" && ! -d "$MODULE_DIR" ]]; then
  echo "module source '$MODULE_DIR' missing — pass --module-path or --bin-path" >&2
  exit 2
fi
spacetime generate

#!/usr/bin/env bash
if ! spacetime generate 2>err.log; then
  if grep -q "Could not find module source" err.log; then
    # fall back to the last known-good prebuilt wasm instead of failing the pipeline
    spacetime generate --bin-path "$PREBUILT_WASM" || exit 1
  else
    cat err.log >&2; exit 1
  fi
fi

When it happens

Trigger: `spacetime generate` in a repo where the module source directory doesn't exist at the resolved path; a typo'd `--module-path`; having only a prebuilt module.wasm/module.js but not passing `--bin-path`/`--js-path`.

Common situations: Running generate at repo root while the module lives under `crates/module` or similar; renamed module folder; CI checkouts that skip the module directory; attempting offline generation without a toolchain but forgetting the prebuilt flags.

Related errors

• Module directory does not exist: '{}'. Check your --module-p
• Fatal Error: path {} exists but is not a directory.
• Fatal Error: path {} does not exist.
• Could not find a SpacetimeDB module in spacetimedb/ or the c
• Cannot continue without a module path.

AI-assisted analysis of clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB@524b4487d9 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0a40187f97442442. Report an issue: GitHub.