grafana/k6 · warning

%s already exists. Use the `--force` flag to overwrite it

Error message

%s already exists. Use the `--force` flag to overwrite it

What it means

Returned by `k6 new` when the target script file (the positional arg, default 'script.js') already exists on the filesystem and the --force/-f flag was not provided. This is a deliberate guard against clobbering an existing script; the error names the target and tells you the exact escape hatch.

Source

Thrown at internal/cmd/new.go:44

	flags.SortFlags = false
	flags.BoolVarP(&c.overwriteFiles, "force", "f", false, "overwrite existing files")
	flags.StringVar(&c.templateType, "template", "minimal", "template type (choices: minimal, protocol, browser) or relative/absolute path to a custom template file") //nolint:lll
	flags.StringVar(&c.projectID, "project-id", "", "specify the Grafana Cloud project ID for the test")
	return flags
}

func (c *newScriptCmd) run(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) (err error) {
	target := defaultNewScriptName
	if len(args) > 0 {
		target = args[0]
	}

	fileExists, err := fsext.Exists(c.gs.FS, target)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	if fileExists && !c.overwriteFiles {
		return fmt.Errorf("%s already exists. Use the `--force` flag to overwrite it", target)
	}

	// Initialize template manager and validate template before creating any files
	tm, err := templates.NewTemplateManager(c.gs.FS)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("error initializing template manager: %w", err)
	}

	tmpl, err := tm.GetTemplate(c.templateType)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("error retrieving template: %w", err)
	}

	// Prepare template arguments
	argsStruct := templates.TemplateArgs{
		ScriptName: target,
		ProjectID:  c.projectID,
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to 93accf6570)

Solutions

1. Pass --force to overwrite: `k6 new script.js --force`
2. Or choose a fresh target name: `k6 new load-test.js`
3. Or move/back up the existing file first if you need its contents

Example fix

# before
$ k6 new script.js
# error: script.js already exists. Use the `--force` flag to overwrite it

# after
$ k6 new script.js --force

# Idempotent scaffolding: decide overwrite policy up front
target="script.js"
if [ -e "$target" ] && [ "$K6_NEW_FORCE" != "1" ]; then
  echo "$target exists — skipping k6 new (set K6_NEW_FORCE=1 to overwrite)"
else
  k6 new "$target" $([ "$K6_NEW_FORCE" = "1" ] && echo --force)
fi

When it happens

Trigger: Running `k6 new script.js` twice in a row; running `k6 new` with no arg in a directory that already has script.js; generating into a path that a previous tool created.

Common situations: Re-running scaffolding after a failed first attempt; CI/bootstrap steps that assume a clean workspace; teammates scaffolding into an initialized repo.

Related errors

• error initializing template manager: %w
• error retrieving template: %w
• failed to execute template %s: %w
• failed to get absolute path for template %s: %w
• failed to read template file %s: %w

AI-assisted analysis of grafana/k6@93accf6570 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/84ba72139ad85818. Report an issue: GitHub.