prisma/prisma · error · ShellConfigError

${file} does not contain a JSON object

Error message

${file} does not contain a JSON object

What it means

Thrown by `readJson` when a package.json parses to something that is not a JSON object (e.g. an array, a bare string/number, or `null`). Every consumer of a manifest expects a record; `isRecord` rejects arrays and primitives so downstream field reads do not crash with a confusing type error.

Source

Thrown at packages/0-config/tsdown/shell-build.ts:557

    dir = parent;
  }
}

/**
 * The flat, `__`-separated form of a `/`-separated entry or file name. Build
 * outputs are named after this, and `shellExports` maps it back.
 */
function flatEntryName(name: string): string {
  return name.replaceAll('/', '__');
}

function isRecord(value: unknown): value is Record<string, unknown> {
  return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null && !Array.isArray(value);
}

function readJson(file: string): Record<string, unknown> {
  const parsed: unknown = JSON.parse(readFileSync(file, 'utf8'));
  if (!isRecord(parsed)) throw new ShellConfigError(`${file} does not contain a JSON object`);
  return parsed;
}

function stringField(manifest: Record<string, unknown>, field: string, context: string): string {
  const value = manifest[field];
  if (typeof value !== 'string') {
    throw new ShellConfigError(`package.json of ${context} has no string "${field}" field`);
  }
  return value;
}

function recordField(manifest: Record<string, unknown>, field: string): Record<string, unknown> {
  const value = manifest[field] ?? {};
  if (!isRecord(value)) throw new ShellConfigError(`package.json "${field}" is not an object`);
  return value;
}

function stringRecordField(

View on GitHub (pinned to a20d61fb6f)

Solutions

1. Open the named file and ensure its top-level value is a JSON object `{ ... }`.
2. Re-run `pnpm install` / regenerate the file if it was machine-produced.
3. Validate with `node -e 'JSON.parse(require("fs").readFileSync("<file>","utf8"))'` then fix the structure.

Example fix

// before: <file> contents are [] or null
// after
{
  "name": "@internal/foo",
  "version": "0.0.0"
}

import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';

function readJsonObject(file: string): Record<string, unknown> {
  const parsed: unknown = JSON.parse(readFileSync(file, 'utf8'));
  if (typeof parsed !== 'object' || parsed === null || Array.isArray(parsed)) {
    throw new Error(`${file} does not contain a JSON object`);
  }
  return parsed as Record<string, unknown>;
}

function isRecord(value: unknown): value is Record<string, unknown> {
  return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null && !Array.isArray(value);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Any package.json read by the shell build (internal package manifests, the shell's own manifest) whose top-level value is `null`, an array, or a scalar. Reached at shell-build.ts:557 inside `readJson`.

Common situations: Corrupted/truncated package.json. A generated package.json that mistakenly emitted a list. Editing accidents that wrapped the object in `[ ... ]`.

Related errors

• unsupported exports value for ${source.name} ${subpath}: ${J
• ${mapping.dir} declares name ${mapping.name} in the shell ma
• ${shellName} package.json is out of sync with its internal p
• package.json of ${context} has no string "${field}" field
• package.json "${field}" is not an object

AI-assisted analysis of prisma/prisma@a20d61fb6f (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d2976f24a9637388. Report an issue: GitHub.