eyaltoledano/claude-task-master · critical · VertexConfigError

Google Cloud location is required for Vertex AI. Set VERTEX_

Error message

Google Cloud location is required for Vertex AI. Set VERTEX_LOCATION environment variable (e.g., "us-central1").

What it means

Vertex AI calls are region-scoped, so a Google Cloud location (region) must be supplied. GoogleVertexProvider.validateAuth throws VertexConfigError when location is missing or an empty/whitespace string; it is normally read from the VERTEX_LOCATION environment variable (e.g. 'us-central1').

Source

Thrown at src/ai-providers/google-vertex.js:116

			);
		}

		// Project ID is required for Vertex AI
		if (
			!projectId ||
			(typeof projectId === 'string' && projectId.trim().length === 0)
		) {
			throw new VertexConfigError(
				'Google Cloud project ID is required for Vertex AI. Set VERTEX_PROJECT_ID environment variable.'
			);
		}

		// Location is required for Vertex AI
		if (
			!location ||
			(typeof location === 'string' && location.trim().length === 0)
		) {
			throw new VertexConfigError(
				'Google Cloud location is required for Vertex AI. Set VERTEX_LOCATION environment variable (e.g., "us-central1").'
			);
		}
	}

	/**
	 * Creates and returns a Google Vertex AI client instance.
	 * @param {object} params - Parameters for client initialization
	 * @param {string} [params.apiKey] - Google API key
	 * @param {string} params.projectId - Google Cloud project ID
	 * @param {string} params.location - Google Cloud location (e.g., "us-central1")
	 * @param {object} [params.credentials] - Service account credentials object
	 * @param {string} [params.baseURL] - Optional custom API endpoint
	 * @returns {Function} Google Vertex AI client function
	 * @throws {Error} If required parameters are missing or initialization fails
	 */
	getClient(params) {
		try {

View on GitHub (pinned to c0c98d367c)

Solutions

1. Set VERTEX_LOCATION to a valid Vertex AI region (e.g. export VERTEX_LOCATION=us-central1)
2. Add VERTEX_LOCATION to your .env file and ensure it is loaded
3. Verify the region supports the model/endpoint you are calling

Example fix

// before
# .env
VERTEX_PROJECT_ID=my-gcp-project
// after
# .env
VERTEX_PROJECT_ID=my-gcp-project
VERTEX_LOCATION=us-central1

function assertVertexLocation() {
  const location = process.env.VERTEX_LOCATION;
  if (!location || location.trim().length === 0) {
    throw new Error('VERTEX_LOCATION must be set to a Vertex AI region, e.g. us-central1');
  }
}

null

try {
  await vertexProvider.generateText({ messages, modelId });
} catch (e) {
  if (e.name === 'VertexConfigError' || /location is required for Vertex AI/.test(e.message)) {
    console.error('Set VERTEX_LOCATION (e.g. us-central1) in this environment');
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Using the Vertex provider with VERTEX_LOCATION unset or set to ''/whitespace, or a location param of empty string.

Common situations: New environment missing the env var; copying an .env template without filling VERTEX_LOCATION; assuming a default region exists when none is applied; typo producing an empty value after trimming.

Understand the failure class

Background: "environment variable is not set" and "Missing keys in environment" errors: what missing required env var messages mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

• Google Cloud project ID is required for Vertex AI. Set VERTE
• Vertex AI requires authentication. Provide one of the follow
• Model "${model}" is not available for provider "${this.getNa
• AUTHENTICATION_ERROR
• NO_BRIEF_SELECTED

AI-assisted analysis of eyaltoledano/claude-task-master@c0c98d367c (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/958c4e76144c3911. Report an issue: GitHub.