denoland/deno · error

No deno.json found in current directory

Error message

No deno.json found in current directory

What it means

`deno pack` found no JSR packages in the workspace and no deno.json in the current directory, so there is nothing to pack. This is the `None` arm of the member deno.json lookup: `jsr_packages_for_publish()` was empty and `member_deno_json()` returned None.

Source

Thrown at cli/tools/pack/mod.rs:97

            "Missing 'exports' field in '{}'. Add an exports field like:\n  {{\n    \"exports\": \"./mod.ts\",\n    ...\n  }}",
            deno_json.specifier
          );
        }

        packages.push(JsrPackageConfig {
          name,
          member_dir: cli_options.start_dir.workspace.root_dir().clone(),
          config_file: deno_json.clone(),
          license: deno_json
            .json
            .license
            .as_ref()
            .and_then(|l| l.as_str().map(|s| s.to_string())),
          should_publish: true,
        });
      }
      None => {
        bail!("No deno.json found in current directory");
      }
    }
  }

  let module_graph_creator = cli_factory.module_graph_creator().await?;
  let parsed_source_cache = cli_factory.parsed_source_cache()?;

  for package in packages {
    // Validate package name format
    if !package.name.starts_with('@') || !package.name.contains('/') {
      bail!(
        "Invalid package name '{}'. Package name must be in the format '@scope/name'",
        package.name
      );
    }

    log::info!(
      "{} {}",

View on GitHub (pinned to 9ad36f7a2c)

Solutions

1. Run `deno pack` from the directory that contains (or should contain) the package's deno.json.
2. Create a deno.json with name/version/exports in the current directory if this is the package root.
3. If packages live in workspace members, ensure each member deno.json has a `name` so they register as JSR packages.

Example fix

# before: no config in cwd
deno pack
# after: scaffold minimal config first
cat > deno.json <<'EOF'
{
  "name": "@scope/pkg",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "exports": "./mod.ts"
}
EOF
deno pack

import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
if (!existsSync("deno.json") && !existsSync("deno.jsonc")) {
  console.error("nothing to pack: create deno.json first");
  process.exit(1);
}
deno pack;

When it happens

Trigger: Running `deno pack` in a directory with neither deno.json nor any publishable workspace member (e.g. a plain folder, a node-only project, or a subdirectory of the workspace).

Common situations: Running the command from the wrong directory (workspace root of a multi-member workspace where members hold the packages). A folder with only .ts files and no config; a package.json-only npm project. Intentionally initializing a package before creating config.

Related errors

• Missing 'name' field in '{}'. Add a package name like: {
• Missing 'version' field in '{}'. Add a version like: {
• Missing 'exports' field in '{}'. Add an exports field like:
• unsupported 'exports' shape in deno.json: expected a string
• No deno.json or package.json in "{}".

AI-assisted analysis of denoland/deno@9ad36f7a2c (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/89608c5de1e4d1fe. Report an issue: GitHub.