remotion-dev/remotion · error · Error

Could not determine version of installed Remotion packages:

Error message

Could not determine version of installed Remotion packages: ${(err as Error).message}

What it means

When at least one Remotion package is already installed, `addCommand` resolves the installed package.json via `require(packageJsonPath)` to read `version`. If that require/parse throws (file missing, unreadable, or invalid JSON), the underlying error message is wrapped and re-thrown so the target install version cannot be determined.

Source

Thrown at packages/cli/src/add.ts:130

	const installedRemotionPackages = listOfRemotionPackages.filter((pkg) =>
		allDeps.includes(pkg),
	);

	// Get the version from the first installed Remotion package
	const packageJsonPath = `${remotionRoot}/node_modules/${installedRemotionPackages[0]}/package.json`;
	let targetVersion: string | null = null;

	if (installedRemotionPackages.length > 0) {
		try {
			const packageJson = require(packageJsonPath);
			targetVersion = packageJson.version;
			const packageList =
				toInstall.length === 1
					? toInstall[0]
					: `${toInstall.length} packages (${toInstall.join(', ')})`;
			Log.info({indent: false, logLevel}, `Installing ${packageList}`);
		} catch (err) {
			throw new Error(
				`Could not determine version of installed Remotion packages: ${(err as Error).message}`,
			);
		}
	} else {
		// If no Remotion packages are installed, we can only install extra packages
		const notExtraPackages = toInstall.filter((pkg) => !EXTRA_PACKAGES[pkg]);
		if (notExtraPackages.length > 0) {
			throw new Error(
				'No Remotion packages found in your project. Install Remotion first.',
			);
		}
	}

	const manager = StudioServerInternals.getPackageManager({
		remotionRoot,
		packageManager,
		dirUp: 0,
		logLevel,

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

Reinstall dependencies (delete node_modules and lockfile-install) to restore a valid package.json.
Verify the installed Remotion package's package.json is valid JSON.
Check filesystem permissions on node_modules.
If a specific package is implicated, reinstall just that package.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

import fs from 'node:fs';
function installedVersionReadable(pkgJsonPath: string): boolean {
  try {
    JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(pkgJsonPath, 'utf-8'));
    return true;
  } catch { return false; }
}

Try / catch

try { await addCommand({...}); }
catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && /Could not determine version/.test(e.message)) {
    await reinstallNodeModules();
  }
}

Prevention

Keep node_modules intact; reinstall if corrupted.
Validate package.json files are well-formed JSON.
Check filesystem permissions before running add.

When it happens

Trigger: The installed Remotion package's package.json is missing, not readable, or contains invalid JSON; `resolveFrom` pointed at a path that does not exist; filesystem/permission issues; a corrupted node_modules.

Common situations: Corrupted or partially-deleted node_modules; manually edited package.json with syntax errors; permission errors reading the file; a broken symlink in node_modules.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a33f4a13ebf07e86. Report an issue: GitHub.