hyperledger/fabric · error

not a module or not in module mode

Error message

not a module or not in module mode

What it means

gomodDevConfigDir ran 'go env GOMOD' and got an empty string, meaning the process is not inside a Go module (classic GOPATH mode or no go.mod). The module root is needed to locate the adjacent sampleconfig directory.

Source

Thrown at core/config/configtest/config.go:84

			return devPath, nil
		}
	}

	return "", errors.New("unable to find sampleconfig directory on GOPATH")
}

func gomodDevConfigDir() (string, error) {
	buf := bytes.NewBuffer(nil)
	cmd := exec.Command("go", "env", "GOMOD")
	cmd.Stdout = buf

	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
		return "", err
	}

	modFile := strings.TrimSpace(buf.String())
	if modFile == "" {
		return "", errors.New("not a module or not in module mode")
	}

	devPath := filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(modFile), "sampleconfig")
	if !dirExists(devPath) {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s does not exist", devPath)
	}

	return devPath, nil
}

// GetDevMspDir gets the path to the sampleconfig/msp tree that is maintained
// with the source tree.  This should only be used in a test/development
// context.
func GetDevMspDir() string {
	devDir := GetDevConfigDir()
	return filepath.Join(devDir, "msp")
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 2736b63f8f)

Solutions

1. Run from within the fabric module (ensure a go.mod is present)
2. Set GO111MODULE=on in the environment
3. Fall back to a GOPATH-based dev config dir

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at core/config/configtest/config.go:84 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of hyperledger/fabric@2736b63f8f (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4254a6f31531c7a8. Report an issue: GitHub.