gatsbyjs/gatsby · error

[gatsby-plugin-image] Could not read image data file "${file

Error message

[gatsby-plugin-image] Could not read image data file "${filename}". This may mean that the images in "${this.filename}" were not processed. Please ensure that your gatsby version is at least 2.24.78.

What it means

Error "[gatsby-plugin-image] Could not read image data file "${filename}". This may mean that the images in "${this.filename}" were not processed. Please ensure that your gatsby version is at least 2.24.78." thrown in gatsbyjs/gatsby.

Source

Thrown at packages/gatsby-plugin-image/src/babel-plugin-parse-static-images.ts:80

            `[gatsby-plugin-image] Couldn't find image data cache file`
          )
        }

        const filename = path.join(cacheDir, `${hash}.json`)
        let data: Record<string, unknown> | undefined

        // If there's no src prop there's no point in checking if it exists
        if (!unresolvedProps.includes(`src`)) {
          try {
            data = fs.readJSONSync(filename)
          } catch (e) {
            // TODO add info about minimum Gatsby version once this is merged
            const msg = stripIndent`
            Could not read image data file "${filename}". 
            This may mean that the images in "${this.filename}" were not processed.
            Please ensure that your gatsby version is at least 2.24.78.`
            error += msg
            console.warn(`[gatsby-plugin-image] ${msg}`)
          }
        }

        if (!data) {
          console.warn(
            `[gatsby-plugin-image] No data found for image "${props.src}"`
          )

          // Add the error message to the component so we can show it in the browser
          const newProp = t.jsxAttribute(
            t.jsxIdentifier(`__error`),

            t.jsxExpressionContainer(
              t.stringLiteral(`No data found for image "${props.src}"
              ${error || ``}`)
            )
          )
          nodePath.node.attributes.push(newProp)

View on GitHub (pinned to e85d62f177)

Solutions

1. Upgrade Gatsby to at least 2.24.78 so image data files are written
2. Run `gatsby clean` to clear stale caches and rebuild
3. Verify the images in the file were processed during the node phase

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/gatsby-plugin-image/src/babel-plugin-parse-static-images.ts:80 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of gatsbyjs/gatsby@e85d62f177 (2026-08-26). Data as JSON: /api/errors/945cf64496e7b790. Report an issue: GitHub.