pubkey/rxdb · error · Error

You are using a function which must be overwritten by a…

Error message

You are using a function which must be overwritten by a plugin.
        You should either prevent the usage of this function or add the plugin via:
            import { ${pluginName} } from 'rxdb/plugins/${pluginKey}';
            addRxPlugin(${pluginName});
        

What it means

exportJSON() is a stub in RxDB core that throws pluginMissing('json-dump'). Full-database JSON dump/import lives in the json-dump plugin, which must be added via addRxPlugin so the real implementation overwrites this stub. Calling the stub means the plugin was not added.

Solutions

1. Import and add the plugin: import { RxDBJsonDumpPlugin } from 'rxdb/plugins/json-dump'; addRxPlugin(RxDBJsonDumpPlugin); before calling exportJSON.
2. Add the plugin once at application startup, before any dump code runs.
3. If you only need per-collection export, note collection.exportJSON also requires the same json-dump plugin.

Example fix

// before
const dump = await db.exportJSON();
// after
import { RxDBJsonDumpPlugin } from 'rxdb/plugins/json-dump';
import { addRxPlugin } from 'rxdb';
addRxPlugin(RxDBJsonDumpPlugin);
const dump = await db.exportJSON();

try {
  return await db.exportJSON();
} catch (err) {
  if (typeof err.message === 'string' && err.message.includes('json-dump')) {
    throw new Error('Add the json-dump plugin: addRxPlugin(RxDBJsonDumpPlugin)');
  }
  throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling db.exportJSON() (or the overload with collection names / RxDumpOptions) on a database created without the json-dump plugin registered.

Common situations: Forgetting `import { getRxStorageJSONDump } / wrappedValidate...` style plugin registration, specifically `addRxPlugin(RxDBJsonDumpPlugin)` from 'rxdb/plugins/json-dump'; following old docs that imported it implicitly; tree-shaking dropped the side-effect import.

Related errors

• DB14

AI-assisted analysis of pubkey/rxdb@af6fb65f94 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/efa580cd508b7f72. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/rx-database.ts:543

        return this.idleQueue.requestIdlePromise();
    }

    /**
     * Export database to a JSON friendly format.
     */
    exportJSON(
        _collectionsOrOptions?: string[] | RxDumpOptions,
        _options?: RxDumpOptions
    ): Promise<RxDumpDatabase<Collections>>;
    exportJSON(
        _collectionsOrOptions?: string[] | RxDumpOptions,
        _options?: RxDumpOptions
    ): Promise<RxDumpDatabaseAny<Collections>>;
    exportJSON(
        _collectionsOrOptions?: string[] | RxDumpOptions,
        _options?: RxDumpOptions
    ): Promise<any> {
        throw pluginMissing('json-dump');
    }

    addState<T = any>(_name?: string): Promise<RxState<T, Reactivity>> {
        throw pluginMissing('state');
    }

    /**
     * Import the parsed JSON export into the collection.
     * @param _exportedJSON The previously exported data from the `<db>.exportJSON()` method.
     * @note When an interface is loaded in this collection all base properties of the type are typed as `any`
     * since data could be encrypted.
     */
    importJSON(_exportedJSON: RxDumpDatabaseAny<Collections>): Promise<void> {
        throw pluginMissing('json-dump');
    }

    backup(_options: BackupOptions): RxBackupState {
        throw pluginMissing('backup');

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