denoland/deno · error

No deno.json or package.json in

Error message

No deno.json or package.json in "{}".

What it means

The dependency-listing path of the package manager (cli/tools/pm/list.rs) requires a deno.json or package.json in the start directory; `has_deno_or_pkg_json()` returned false. Without any manifest there are no dependencies to resolve, list, or update, so it fails fast with the inspected directory path.

Solutions

1. cd to the project root (or the directory containing deno.json/package.json) and re-run.
2. Initialize a manifest: `deno init` (deno.json) or `npm init` / create a minimal deno.json.
3. If the config lives elsewhere, point at it explicitly with `--config path/to/deno.json` from the current directory.

Example fix

# before (cwd has no config)
deno install
# after
cd /path/to/project-root
deno install
# or point at the config
deno install --config /path/to/project-root/deno.json

import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
if (!existsSync("deno.json") && !existsSync("deno.jsonc") && !existsSync("package.json")) {
  console.error(`no deno.json or package.json in ${process.cwd()}`);
  process.exit(1);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running a dependency command (e.g. `deno install` in its list/resolve flow) from a directory with no deno.json and no package.json — including subdirectories of the project that contain no config.

Common situations: Wrong terminal cwd (deep src/ subfolder); fresh projects not yet initialized; running inside a scratch folder; scripts that cd into temp dirs before invoking deno.

Related errors

• Failed to discover the newly created deno.json at
• Couldn't find a deno.json, deno.jsonc, jsr.json or…
• Missing name in config
• No deno.json found in current directory
• unsupported 'exports' shape in deno.json: expected a string…

AI-assisted analysis of denoland/deno@9ad36f7a2c (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a5ccf22340143c9f. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at cli/tools/pm/list.rs:330

      allow_remote: true,
      cache_setting: CacheSetting::RespectHeaders,
      download_log_level: log::Level::Trace,
      progress_bar: None,
    },
  );
  let file_fetcher = Arc::new(file_fetcher);
  let npm_fetch_resolver = Arc::new(NpmFetchResolver::new(
    file_fetcher.clone(),
    factory.npmrc()?.clone(),
    factory.npm_version_resolver()?.clone(),
  ));
  let jsr_fetch_resolver = Arc::new(JsrFetchResolver::new(
    file_fetcher.clone(),
    factory.jsr_version_resolver()?.clone(),
  ));

  if !cli_options.start_dir.has_deno_or_pkg_json() {
    bail!(
      "No deno.json or package.json in \"{}\".",
      cli_options.initial_cwd().display(),
    );
  }

  let args = DepManagerArgs {
    module_load_preparer: factory.module_load_preparer().await?.clone(),
    jsr_fetch_resolver,
    npm_fetch_resolver,
    npm_resolver: factory.npm_resolver().await?.clone(),
    npm_installer: factory.npm_installer().await?.clone(),
    npm_version_resolver: factory.npm_version_resolver()?.clone(),
    progress_bar: factory.text_only_progress_bar().clone(),
    permissions_container: factory.root_permissions_container()?.clone(),
    main_module_graph_container: factory
      .main_module_graph_container()
      .await?
      .clone(),

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