clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB · error

Server not specified and no default server configured.

Error message

Server not specified and no default server configured.

What it means

Thrown by `spacetime dev` when no server can be determined. The resolution chain is: explicit `--server` flag, then `default_server_name` from the global CLI config (`~/.local/share/spacetime/config.toml` or equivalent). If both are absent the command refuses to guess and bails. Note: unlike some other commands, `dev` does NOT silently fall back to `maincloud` or `local` for the server name itself.

Source

Thrown at crates/cli/src/subcommands/dev.rs:166

    let project_path = args.get_one::<PathBuf>("project-path").unwrap();
    let module_path_from_cli = args.get_one::<PathBuf>("module-path");
    let module_bindings_path = args.get_one::<PathBuf>("module-bindings-path").unwrap();
    let client_language = args.get_one::<Language>("client-lang");
    let clear_database = args
        .get_one::<ClearMode>("clear-database")
        .copied()
        .unwrap_or(ClearMode::OnConflict);
    let force = args.get_flag("force");

    // If you don't specify a server, we default to your default server
    // If you don't have one of those, we default to "maincloud"
    let server_from_cli = args.get_one::<String>("server").map(|s| s.as_str());

    let default_server_name = config.default_server_name().map(|s| s.to_string());

    let mut resolved_server = server_from_cli
        .or(default_server_name.as_deref())
        .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Server not specified and no default server configured."))?;

    let cwd = std::env::current_dir()?;
    let mut project_dir = if project_path.is_absolute() {
        project_path.clone()
    } else {
        cwd.join(project_path)
    };

    if module_bindings_path.is_absolute() {
        anyhow::bail!("Module bindings path must be a relative path");
    }
    let mut module_bindings_dir = project_dir.join(module_bindings_path);

    let mut spacetimedb_dir = match module_path_from_cli {
        Some(path) => {
            if path.is_absolute() {
                path.clone()
            } else {

View on GitHub (pinned to 524b4487d9)

Solutions

1. Pass the server explicitly: `spacetime dev --server local` (or `maincloud`)
2. Set a persistent default once: `spacetime server set local http://localhost:3000 --use-as-default` (or `spacetime server set maincloud --use-as-default`)
3. Verify with `spacetime server list` that a default exists and points where you expect
4. In CI, always pass `--server` explicitly rather than relying on agent state

Example fix

# before
spacetime dev
# after
spacetime dev --server local

# Check a default server exists before running dev
spacetime server list | grep -q default || spacetime server set local http://localhost:3000 --use-as-default

When it happens

Trigger: Fresh install where `spacetime server list`/`spacetime login` was never run, running `spacetime dev` in a project whose `spacetime.json` has no `server` field and no global default server is set, or a corrupted/emptied global config file.

Common situations: New machine or CI container with no SpacetimeDB global config; user deleted config.toml; switching between `local` and `maincloud` setups without setting a default.

Related errors

• No such saved server configuration: {server} Add a new serve
• No default server configuration. Set an existing server as t
• Server nickname {} already in use: {}://{}
• Server host name is ambiguous with existing server nickname:
• Module bindings path must be a relative path

AI-assisted analysis of clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB@524b4487d9 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7c8421a1bb2b79c9. Report an issue: GitHub.