continuedev/continue · error · ContinueError

FindAndReplaceOldStringNotFound

FindAndReplaceOldStringNotFound

Error message

Edit at index ${editIndex}: string not found in file: "${oldString}"

What it means

Thrown by executeFindAndReplace when findSearchMatches locates zero occurrences of old_string in the target file content. The library refuses to 'replace' text that does not exist so failures surface immediately rather than silently succeeding.

Source

Thrown at core/edit/searchAndReplace/performReplace.ts:95

    if (line.startsWith(oldIndent)) {
      return matchedIndent + line.slice(oldIndent.length);
    }
    return line;
  });
  return adjusted.join("\n");
}

export function executeFindAndReplace(
  fileContent: string,
  oldString: string,
  newString: string,
  replaceAll: boolean,
  editIndex = 0,
): string {
  const matches = findSearchMatches(fileContent, oldString);

  if (matches.length === 0) {
    throw new ContinueError(
      ContinueErrorReason.FindAndReplaceOldStringNotFound,
      `Edit at index ${editIndex}: string not found in file: "${oldString}"`,
    );
  }

  if (replaceAll) {
    // Apply replacements in reverse order to maintain correct positions
    let result = fileContent;
    for (let i = matches.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
      const match = matches[i];
      const adjustedNew = adjustReplacementIndentation(
        result,
        match,
        oldString,
        newString,
      );
      result =
        result.substring(0, match.startIndex) +

View on GitHub (pinned to 5522c6f44c)

Solutions

1. Re-read the file and copy old_string exactly, including indentation and line endings
2. Trim or expand the old_string to a smaller unique snippet you can verify exists
3. Verify you are editing the resolved path returned by filepath validation, not a stale relative path
4. If the file may have changed, re-fetch content and rebuild the edit

Example fix

// before
await findAndReplace({ filepath, old_string: "function foo() {", new_string: "function bar() {" });
// after
const content = await readFile(filepath);
// copy exact snippet from content, then:
await findAndReplace({ filepath, old_string: exactSnippet, new_string: exactSnippet.replace("foo", "bar") });

const content = await readFile(filepath); if (!content.includes(oldString)) throw new Error('old_string not present; re-read file');

const snippetExists = (content: string, s: string) => s === '' || content.includes(s);

catch (e) { if (e.message.includes('string not found in file')) { reReadFileAndRebuildEdit(); } else throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: The old_string text is not present verbatim: whitespace/indentation mismatch, tabs vs spaces, the file changed since the string was read, or a typo in the literal.

Common situations: LLM edits based on stale file contents (file modified between read and edit); trailing whitespace differences; line-ending differences (CRLF vs LF); wrong file path pointing to a similar file.

Related errors

• FindAndReplaceIdenticalOldAndNewStrings
• FindAndReplaceMultipleOccurrences
• Lazy apply not supported for model ${llm.model}
• Hunk could not be applied cleanly to source code.
• Token limit reached. File/range likely too large for this ed

AI-assisted analysis of continuedev/continue@5522c6f44c (2026-08-27). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6d425759642cef2c. Report an issue: GitHub.