crewAIInc/crewAI · error · ValueError

project_name is required to update a ZIP deployment

Error message

project_name is required to update a ZIP deployment

What it means

Raised by CrewAI CLI's deployment command when _update_crew_from_zip is called on a deployment whose project_name attribute is empty or None. The ZIP update flow needs a project directory name to build the archive via create_project_zip, so an empty name cannot proceed. It surfaces as an uncaught ValueError from `crewai deploy update` (ZIP mode).

Solutions

1. Verify you are in the project root that contains the pyproject.toml used at creation time and re-run `crewai deploy update <uuid> --zip`
2. Check that pyproject.toml still exposes a valid project name; fix or restore it if the file was renamed/edited
3. If invoking DeploymentCommand programmatically, pass the project name explicitly (e.g. via the constructor/CrewAI object) so self.project_name is set before calling update

Example fix

# before
crew.update_crew_from_zip(uuid=uuid, repository=repo, env_vars=env)
# after (ensure project name resolves first)
if not crew.project_name:
    raise SystemExit("Run this from the project root containing pyproject.toml")
crew.update_crew_from_zip(uuid=uuid, repository=repo, env_vars=env)

from pathlib import Path
import tomllib

def project_name_resolves(root: str = ".") -> bool:
    py = Path(root) / "pyproject.toml"
    if not py.exists():
        return False
    data = tomllib.loads(py.read_text())
    return bool(data.get("project", {}).get("name") or data.get("tool", {}).get("poetry", {}).get("name"))

try:
    deployment.update_crew_from_zip(uuid=uuid, repository=repo, env_vars=env)
except ValueError as e:
    if "project_name is required" in str(e):
        raise SystemExit("Run from the crew project root (pyproject.toml required)") from e
    raise

When it happens

Trigger: Running `crewai deploy update <uuid> --zip` (or the plus-api ZIP update path) from a directory where the CLI failed to detect a project name, or calling DeploymentCommand._update_crew_from_zip directly with project_name unset (e.g. the CrewAI object was constructed without a valid pyproject.toml/package name).

Common situations: Running the deploy command outside a crew project root (no pyproject.toml), a pyproject.toml missing the crewai project metadata, or a renamed/moved project directory so name auto-detection returns empty.

Related errors

• project_name is required to create a deployment payload
• is not a Git repository.
• Error: Trigger must be in format 'app_slug/trigger_slug'
• Error: Unknown or readonly configuration key
• Failed to publish tool. Local changes need to be resolved…

AI-assisted analysis of crewAIInc/crewAI@754d7323be (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/897a391b82aa6a22. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at lib/cli/src/crewai_cli/deploy/main.py:484

            self._confirm_zip_input(env_vars, confirm)
            console.print("Uploading project ZIP...", style="bold blue")
            return self.plus_api_client.create_crew_from_zip(
                zip_file_path,
                name=self.project_name,
                env=env_vars,
            )
        finally:
            zip_file_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)

    def _update_crew_from_zip(
        self,
        uuid: str,
        repository: git.Repository | None,
        env_vars: dict[str, str],
    ) -> Any:
        """Update an existing deployment by uploading a project ZIP archive."""
        if not self.project_name:
            raise ValueError("project_name is required to update a ZIP deployment")

        console.print("Preparing project ZIP...", style="bold blue")
        zip_file_path = create_project_zip(self.project_name, repository=repository)
        try:
            console.print("Uploading project ZIP...", style="bold blue")
            return self.plus_api_client.update_crew_from_zip(
                uuid,
                zip_file_path,
                env=env_vars,
            )
        finally:
            zip_file_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)

    def _confirm_input(
        self, env_vars: dict[str, str], remote_repo_url: str, confirm: bool
    ) -> None:
        """
        Confirm input parameters with the user.

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