jestjs/jest · error · ValidationError

Configuration in ${packageJson} is not valid. Jest expects t

Error message

Configuration in ${packageJson} is not valid. Jest expects the string configuration to point to a file, but ${absolutePath} is not. Please check your Jest configuration in ${packageJson}.

What it means

When the `jest` key in package.json is a string, Jest treats it as a path to a config file (a common shorthand). resolveConfigPathByTraversing resolves that string to an absolute path and checks it is a file; if not, it throws a ValidationError. This is distinct from the jest key being an inline object, which is always accepted.

Source

Thrown at packages/jest-config/src/resolveConfigPath.ts:89

  skipMultipleConfigError: boolean,
): string => {
  const configFiles = JEST_CONFIG_EXT_ORDER.map(ext =>
    path.resolve(pathToResolve, getConfigFilename(ext)),
  ).filter(isFile);

  const packageJson = findPackageJson(pathToResolve);

  if (packageJson) {
    const jestKey = getPackageJsonJestKey(packageJson);

    if (jestKey) {
      if (typeof jestKey === 'string') {
        const absolutePath = path.isAbsolute(jestKey)
          ? jestKey
          : path.resolve(pathToResolve, jestKey);

        if (!isFile(absolutePath)) {
          throw new ValidationError(
            `${BULLET}Validation Error`,
            `  Configuration in ${chalk.bold(packageJson)} is not valid. ` +
              `Jest expects the string configuration to point to a file, but ${absolutePath} is not. ` +
              `Please check your Jest configuration in ${chalk.bold(
                packageJson,
              )}.`,
            DOCUMENTATION_NOTE,
          );
        }

        configFiles.push(absolutePath);
      } else {
        configFiles.push(packageJson);
      }
    }
  }

  if (!skipMultipleConfigError && configFiles.length > 1) {

View on GitHub (pinned to f49721c78e)

Solutions

1. Create the file the jest string points to, or correct the path
2. Change the jest key to an inline object if you want config inside package.json
3. Point the string at an existing absolute or correct relative path

Example fix

// before (package.json)
{ "jest": "./config/jest.js" }
// after
{ "jest": "./jest.config.js" }

import * as fs from 'node:fs';
const pkg = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('package.json', 'utf8'));
if (typeof pkg.jest === 'string' && !fs.existsSync(pkg.jest)) {
  throw new Error(`jest config file not found: ${pkg.jest}`);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Setting `"jest": "./jest.config.js"` in package.json when that file does not exist, or pointing it at a directory.

Common situations: Renaming or deleting the referenced config file without updating package.json; wrong relative path; pointing at a file outside the project root.

Related errors

• Multiple configurations found Implicit config resolution d
• For a percentage based memory limit a percentageReference mu
• Unexpected numerical input
• Unexpected input
• jest-haste-map: the `ignorePattern` option must be a RegExp

AI-assisted analysis of jestjs/jest@f49721c78e (2026-08-03). Data as JSON: /data/errors/74d328959b9b8379.json. Report an issue: GitHub.