What causes "Missing loaded config directory" in clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB?

Pass the module path explicitly so the prompt never runs: `spacetime dev --module-path ./spacetimedb`

clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB · error · anyhow::Error

Missing loaded config directory

Error message

Missing loaded config directory

What it means

During `spacetime dev`, if no module path can be found the CLI interactively offers to prompt for one. That prompt needs a base directory to resolve relative paths against, taken from loaded_config.config_dir (the directory of the discovered spacetime.json). When loaded_config is None — no project config file was found — there is no base directory, so the command errors with 'Missing loaded config directory' after you accept the prompt.

Solutions

Pass the module path explicitly so the prompt never runs: `spacetime dev --module-path ./spacetimedb`
Create or move a spacetime.json in the project directory (or a parent of it) so config discovery succeeds and config_dir exists
Run `spacetime init` first to scaffold a project with a config file, then re-run dev

Example fix

# before (no spacetime.json anywhere up the tree)
spacetime dev
# -> prompt -> Yes -> 'Missing loaded config directory'

# after
spacetime dev --module-path ./server

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# Before dev, ensure a config exists or pass the module path explicitly:
if [ ! -f spacetime.json ]; then
  spacetime dev --module-path ./spacetimedb "$@"
else
  spacetime dev "$@"
fi

Prevention

Always pass --module-path when running dev outside a configured project
Run `spacetime init` first so the project has spacetime.json and a config_dir
Avoid interactive prompts in non-TTY environments (CI) — they cannot recover without a config

When it happens

Trigger: Running `spacetime dev` in a directory tree with no spacetime.json, without --module-path, and answering 'Yes' to 'Would you like to provide --module-path now?'. The preceding guard already bails if you answer No; this branch bails because the interactive prompt cannot resolve relative module paths without a config dir.

Common situations: First-run of dev in a brand-new/empty folder before `spacetime init`; running dev from the wrong terminal tab/cwd; a spacetime.json that was renamed or is one directory above the cwd outside the search scope; CI/non-TTY environments where the config discovery silently found nothing.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB@3653d2ed49 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ae9c7d030fd91db1. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/cli/src/subcommands/dev.rs:262

                .unwrap_or_else(|| "spacetime.json".to_string());
            println!("{} {}", "Found config files:".yellow().bold(), files.dimmed());
            println!(
                "{}",
                "Could not determine module path because no `module-path` was found and `./spacetimedb` does not exist."
                    .yellow()
            );
            let should_provide = Confirm::new()
                .with_prompt("Would you like to provide --module-path now?")
                .default(true)
                .interact()?;
            if !should_provide {
                anyhow::bail!("Cannot continue without a module path.");
            }

            let config_dir = loaded_config
                .as_ref()
                .map(|lc| lc.config_dir.clone())
                .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing loaded config directory"))?;

            let provided_module_path: String = Input::with_theme(&ColorfulTheme::default())
                .with_prompt("Module path")
                .default("spacetimedb".to_string())
                .validate_with({
                    let config_dir = config_dir.clone();
                    move |input: &String| -> Result<(), String> {
                        let candidate = PathBuf::from(input);
                        let resolved = if candidate.is_absolute() {
                            candidate
                        } else {
                            config_dir.join(&candidate)
                        };
                        if resolved.exists() {
                            Ok(())
                        } else {
                            Err(format!(
                                "Path does not exist: {} (resolved to {})",

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