nodejs/node · error · GypError

Target %s has type %s but standalone_static_library flag is

Error message

Target %s has type %s but standalone_static_library flag is only valid for static_library type.

What it means

The 'standalone_static_library' flag is only meaningful for targets of type 'static_library'. ValidateTargetType raises GypError when the flag is truthy (non-zero) but target_type != 'static_library' (e.g. executable, shared_library, none).

Source

Thrown at tools/gyp/pylib/gyp/input.py:2699

        "executable",
        "loadable_module",
        "static_library",
        "shared_library",
        "mac_kernel_extension",
        "none",
        "windows_driver",
    )
    target_type = target_dict.get("type", None)
    if target_type not in VALID_TARGET_TYPES:
        raise GypError(
            "Target %s has an invalid target type '%s'.  "
            "Must be one of %s." % (target, target_type, "/".join(VALID_TARGET_TYPES))
        )
    if (
        target_dict.get("standalone_static_library", 0)
        and not target_type == "static_library"
    ):
        raise GypError(
            "Target %s has type %s but standalone_static_library flag is"
            " only valid for static_library type." % (target, target_type)
        )


def ValidateRulesInTarget(target, target_dict, extra_sources_for_rules):
    """Ensures that the rules sections in target_dict are valid and consistent,
    and determines which sources they apply to.

    Arguments:
      target: string, name of target.
      target_dict: dict, target spec containing "rules" and "sources" lists.
      extra_sources_for_rules: a list of keys to scan for rule matches in
          addition to 'sources'.
    """

    # Dicts to map between values found in rules' 'rule_name' and 'extension'
    # keys and the rule dicts themselves.

View on GitHub (pinned to 1b2de5e052)

Solutions

Remove 'standalone_static_library' from non-static_library targets.
Or change the target's 'type' back to 'static_library' if standalone behavior is intended.
Audit shared templates/generators that set the flag globally.

Example fix

// before: { 'target_name':'foo', 'type':'executable', 'standalone_static_library': 1 }
// after: { 'target_name':'foo', 'type':'executable' }

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

for t, spec in targets.items():
    if spec.get('standalone_static_library') and spec.get('type') != 'static_library':
        raise SystemExit('standalone_static_library only valid for static_library: %s' % t)

Type guard

def standalone_flag_ok(spec): return not spec.get('standalone_static_library') or spec.get('type') == 'static_library'

Try / catch

try:
    gyp.main(args)
except gyp.input.GypError as e:
    if 'standalone_static_library' in str(e): print('Remove the flag or set type to static_library'); raise

Prevention

Set standalone_static_library only on static_library targets.
Strip the flag when changing a target's type.
Lint for orphaned flags during refactors.

When it happens

Trigger: target_dict.get('standalone_static_library') is truthy AND target_type is not exactly 'static_library'.

Common situations: Copy-pasting a static_library target and changing its type to executable/shared_library while leaving the flag; misunderstanding the flag as a general optimization; template that sets the flag unconditionally.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of nodejs/node@1b2de5e052 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/656d64bf01d0c368. Report an issue: GitHub.