clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB · error · anyhow::Error

Module directory does not exist: '{}'. Check your --module-p

Error message

Module directory does not exist: '{}'. Check your --module-path flag or the module-path setting in spacetime.json.

What it means

Thrown by detect_module_language in the SpacetimeDB CLI when the module path resolved from --module-path, the module-path setting in spacetime.json, or the auto-detected project directory does not exist on disk. The CLI refuses to build or publish because it cannot inspect the directory to determine the module language (Rust, C#, JavaScript/TypeScript, or C++). It always indicates a wrong or stale path, not a broken project.

Source

Thrown at crates/cli/src/util.rs:262

/// 1. `{project_dir}/spacetimedb/` subdirectory
/// 2. `{project_dir}` itself
///
/// Returns the first path that contains a recognizable SpacetimeDB module, or `None`.
pub fn find_module_path(project_dir: &Path) -> Option<PathBuf> {
    let spacetimedb_subdir = project_dir.join("spacetimedb");
    if spacetimedb_subdir.is_dir() && detect_module_language(&spacetimedb_subdir).is_ok() {
        return Some(spacetimedb_subdir);
    }
    if project_dir.is_dir() && detect_module_language(project_dir).is_ok() {
        return Some(project_dir.to_path_buf());
    }
    None
}

pub fn detect_module_language(path_to_module: &Path) -> anyhow::Result<ModuleLanguage> {
    // TODO: Possible add a config file durlng spacetime init with the language
    if !path_to_module.exists() {
        anyhow::bail!(
            "Module directory does not exist: '{}'. \
             Check your --module-path flag or the module-path setting in spacetime.json.",
            path_to_module.display()
        );
    }
    // check for Cargo.toml
    if path_to_module.join("Cargo.toml").exists() {
        Ok(ModuleLanguage::Rust)
    } else if path_to_module.is_dir()
        && path_to_module
            .read_dir()
            .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to read directory {}: {}", path_to_module.display(), e))?
            .flatten()
            .any(|entry| entry.path().extension() == Some("csproj".as_ref()))
    {
        Ok(ModuleLanguage::Csharp)
    } else if path_to_module.join("package.json").exists() {
        Ok(ModuleLanguage::Javascript)

View on GitHub (pinned to 524b4487d9)

Solutions

1. Verify the directory exists (`ls <module-path>`) and fix typos or case sensitivity.
2. Pass an explicit absolute path: `spacetime build --module-path /abs/path/to/module`.
3. Check the module-path field in spacetime.json and make it relative to the config file or correct for the current layout.
4. Run the command from inside the SpacetimeDB project directory (the one containing Cargo.toml, package.json, or a .csproj).
5. If the module was never created, scaffold it first with `spacetime init`.

Example fix

// spacetime.json (before) — machine-specific absolute path
{ "module-path": "/home/me/old-path/module" }
// after — portable relative path
{ "module-path": "./module" }

#!/usr/bin/env bash
MODULE_PATH="${1:-.}"
if [ ! -d "$MODULE_PATH" ]; then
  echo "module path '$MODULE_PATH' does not exist — fix --module-path / spacetime.json" >&2
  exit 1
fi
spacetime build --module-path "$(cd "$MODULE_PATH" && pwd)"

When it happens

Trigger: Running `spacetime build` or `spacetime publish` with --module-path pointing to a nonexistent directory; a spacetime.json whose module-path value is stale or machine-specific; running the CLI from a working directory where find_module_dir can find neither a valid ./spacetime submodule dir nor a valid project dir.

Common situations: Typos or wrong case in --module-path; running commands from the repo root instead of the module crate directory; spacetime.json committed with an absolute path from another machine; moving or renaming the project folder after `spacetime init`.

Related errors

• 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.
• Project initialization did not create spacetimedb directory

AI-assisted analysis of clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB@524b4487d9 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/89754e51948b4e69. Report an issue: GitHub.