Failed to parse config at ${configPath}: ${err instanceof Er

Error message

Failed to parse config at ${configPath}: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}

What it means

Error "Failed to parse config at ${configPath}: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}" thrown in paperclipai/paperclip.

Source

Thrown at packages/db/src/runtime-config.ts:149

  config.database = database;
  return config as PartialConfig;
}

function asPositiveInt(value: unknown): number | null {
  if (typeof value !== "number" || !Number.isFinite(value)) return null;
  const rounded = Math.trunc(value);
  return rounded > 0 ? rounded : null;
}

function readConfig(configPath: string): PartialConfig | null {
  if (!existsSync(configPath)) return null;

  let parsed: unknown;
  try {
    parsed = JSON.parse(readFileSync(configPath, "utf8"));
  } catch (err) {
    throw new Error(
      `Failed to parse config at ${configPath}: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`,
    );
  }

  const migrated = migrateLegacyConfig(parsed);
  if (migrated === null || typeof migrated !== "object" || Array.isArray(migrated)) {
    throw new Error(`Invalid config at ${configPath}: expected a JSON object`);
  }

  const database =
    typeof migrated.database === "object" &&
    migrated.database !== null &&
    !Array.isArray(migrated.database)
      ? migrated.database
      : undefined;

  return {
    database: database

View on GitHub (pinned to 120ae5428f)

Solutions

Fix the JSON syntax error in the config file at the reported path.
Delete the config file to regenerate defaults if it is corrupted.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/db/src/runtime-config.ts:149 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

Understand the failure class

Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@120ae5428f (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2beb6b1a8f548bab. Report an issue: GitHub.