gatsbyjs/gatsby · error · Error

json-file-store failed to JSON.parse this string: `${dataStr

Error message

json-file-store failed to JSON.parse this string: `${dataString.replace(/\n/g, `⏎`)}

What it means

json-file-store's reviver wraps JSON.parse of a cache file; if the on-disk .cache JSON is corrupted (truncated write, manual edit, version mismatch), parse throws and is rethrown with this sentinel so the offending string (newlines visualized) is identifiable.

Source

Thrown at packages/gatsby/src/cache/json-file-store.ts:141

        // JSON.parse is sync so we need to return a buffer sync, we will fill the buffer later
        const buffer = Buffer.alloc(value.size)
        externalBuffers.push({
          index: +value.index,
          buffer: buffer,
        })
        return buffer
      } else if (
        value &&
        value.type === `Infinity` &&
        typeof value.sign === `number`
      ) {
        return Infinity * value.sign
      } else {
        return value
      }
    })
  } catch (e) {
    throw new Error(
      "json-file-store failed to JSON.parse this string: `" +
        dataString.replace(/\n/g, `⏎`)
    )
  }

  // read external buffers
  await Promise.all(
    externalBuffers.map(async function (externalBuffer) {
      if (options.zip) {
        const bufferCompressed = await promisify(fs.readFile)(
          path + `-` + +externalBuffer.index + `.bin` + zipExtension
        )
        const buffer = await promisify(zlib.unzip)(bufferCompressed)
        buffer.copy(externalBuffer.buffer)
      } else {
        const fd = await promisify(fs.open)(
          path + `-` + +externalBuffer.index + `.bin` + zipExtension,
          `r`

View on GitHub (pinned to e85d62f177)

Solutions

1. Delete the .cache directory and rebuild
2. Avoid editing cache files manually
3. Ensure builds are not interrupted mid-write; use a clean CI cache

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/gatsby/src/cache/json-file-store.ts:141 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/34261bb58a2c7f7d. Report an issue: GitHub.