What causes "Cannot find "%s"." in laurent22/joplin?

List notebooks with `ln` (the folder-list CLI command) to confirm the exact name or ID.

laurent22/joplin · error · Error

Cannot find "%s".

Error message

Cannot find "%s".

What it means

Thrown by the `use` CLI command when app().loadItem(ModelType.Folder, args.notebook) returns null — i.e. no notebook (folder) matches the given name or ID. Once switched, all subsequent CLI operations are scoped to that notebook, so the lookup must succeed.

Source

Thrown at packages/app-cli/app/command-use.ts:22

import { ModelType } from '@joplin/lib/BaseModel';
import Folder from '@joplin/lib/models/Folder';

class Command extends BaseCommand {
	public override usage() {
		return 'use <notebook>';
	}

	public override description() {
		return _('Switches to [notebook] - all further operations will happen within this notebook.');
	}

	public override compatibleUis() {
		return ['cli'];
	}

	public override async action(args: { 'notebook': string }) {
		const folder = await app().loadItem(ModelType.Folder, args['notebook']);
		if (!folder) throw new Error(_('Cannot find "%s".', args['notebook']));

		// Auto-expand parent folders in GUI if present
		if (app().gui() && app().gui().widget && app().gui().widget('folderList')) {
			const folderListWidget = app().gui().widget('folderList');
			if (folderListWidget.expandToFolder) {
				// Get all folders to pass to expandToFolder
				const folders = await Folder.all();
				folderListWidget.folders = folders; // Ensure widget has current folders
				folderListWidget.expandToFolder(folder.id);
			}
		}

		app().switchCurrentFolder(folder);
	}
}

module.exports = Command;

View on GitHub (pinned to 2654b33620)

Solutions

List notebooks with `ln` (the folder-list CLI command) to confirm the exact name or ID.
Use the notebook ID instead of its display name.
Check the active profile/database if the notebook is expected to exist.
Sync to pull notebook changes from other clients.

Example fix

// before
const folder = await app().loadItem(ModelType.Folder, args['notebook']);
if (!folder) throw new Error(_('Cannot find "%s".', args['notebook']));

// after
const folder = await app().loadItem(ModelType.Folder, args['notebook']);
if (!folder) throw new Error(_('Cannot find notebook "%s". Run `ln` to list notebooks.', args['notebook']));

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const folder = await Folder.load(notebookNameOrId);
if (!folder) {
  console.error(`Notebook "${notebookNameOrId}" not found. Run 'ln' to list.`);
  return;
}
await command.exec(['use', notebookNameOrId]);

Type guard

function folderExists(folder: FolderEntity | null): folder is FolderEntity {
  return folder != null && typeof folder.id === 'string';
}

Try / catch

try {
  await command.exec(['use', notebook]);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.startsWith('Cannot find')) {
    // list notebooks and prompt the user to pick
  } else throw e;
}

Prevention

List notebooks (`ln`) and copy the exact name or ID before calling `use`.
Use IDs rather than display names to avoid rename/encoding issues.
Sync first if notebooks may have changed on other devices.

When it happens

Trigger: Running `use <notebook>` where <notebook> matches no folder by name or ID. loadItem resolves against the folder table; a miss returns null and the guard throws.

Common situations: Typo in notebook name; the notebook was deleted or renamed; using a notebook ID from a different profile; confusion between a notebook and a tag.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of laurent22/joplin@2654b33620 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d83c5f28199821e1. Report an issue: GitHub.