jestjs/jest · error · Error

Could not find a config file based on provided values: path

Error message

Could not find a config file based on provided values:
path: "${initialPath}"
cwd: "${cwd}"
Config paths must be specified by either a direct path to a config
file, or a path to a directory. If directory is given, Jest will try to
traverse directory tree up, until it finds one of those files in exact order: ${JEST_CONFIG_EXT_ORDER}.

What it means

Thrown via makeResolutionErrorMessage when directory traversal reaches the filesystem root without finding any Jest config file or a package.json with a 'jest' key. The message lists JEST_CONFIG_EXT_ORDER so the user knows which filenames would have been accepted.

Solutions

Create a jest.config.js (or another supported extension) in the project root
Or add a "jest": {} key to package.json
Confirm you are running jest from the intended project directory (pwd)
Pass --config <absolute-path> to point Jest at a config elsewhere

Example fix

// before: no config anywhere
jest
// -> Could not find a config file...

// after: create jest.config.js
/** @type {import('jest').Config} */
module.exports = { testEnvironment: 'node' };

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

import * as fs from 'node:fs';
import * as path from 'node:path';
function assertConfigDiscoverable(dir: string): void {
  let current = path.resolve(dir);
  while (true) {
    const hasConfig = ['.ts', '.mts', '.cts', '.js', '.mjs', '.cjs', '.json']
      .some(ext => fs.existsSync(path.join(current, `jest.config${ext}`)));
    const pkg = path.join(current, 'package.json');
    const hasPkgJest = fs.existsSync(pkg) && JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(pkg, 'utf8')).jest;
    if (hasConfig || hasPkgJest) return;
    const parent = path.dirname(current);
    if (parent === current) {
      throw new Error(`No Jest config found from ${dir} up to filesystem root`);
    }
    current = parent;
  }
}

Prevention

Always create a jest.config.* when scaffolding a new project
Run jest from the project root directory
Pass --config explicitly in CI to avoid directory-dependent discovery

When it happens

Trigger: Running jest in a directory (or with a cwd) that has no jest.config.* file and no 'jest' key in any ancestor's package.json all the way up to '/'.

Common situations: Running jest from the wrong directory (e.g. /tmp or home); fresh projects that never created a config; CI that cd's into the wrong workspace; deleting the config accidentally.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jestjs/jest@8e6d128e4a (2026-08-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1b78ed269152ed76. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at packages/jest-config/src/resolveConfigPath.ts:118

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

  if (!skipMultipleConfigError && configFiles.length > 1) {
    throw new ValidationError(...makeMultipleConfigsErrorMessage(configFiles));
  }

  if (configFiles.length > 0 || packageJson) {
    return configFiles[0] ?? packageJson;
  }

  // This is the system root.
  // We tried everything, config is nowhere to be found ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  if (pathToResolve === path.dirname(pathToResolve)) {
    throw new Error(makeResolutionErrorMessage(initialPath, cwd));
  }

  // go up a level and try it again
  return resolveConfigPathByTraversing(
    path.dirname(pathToResolve),
    initialPath,
    cwd,
    skipMultipleConfigError,
  );
};

const findPackageJson = (pathToResolve: string) => {
  const packagePath = path.resolve(pathToResolve, PACKAGE_JSON);
  if (isFile(packagePath)) {
    return packagePath;
  }

  return undefined;

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