remotion-dev/remotion · error

Could not locate the destination folder

Error message

Could not locate the destination folder

What it means

Thrown by getMoveSourceEdits (folder-source-edits.ts:405) for `move-composition-to-folder` codemods when the destination folder (given by codeMod.folderName plus codeMod.parentName) does not exist among the located folder JSX elements in the file.

Solutions

1. Confirm the destination <Folder name="..."> exists in the same Root file with the expected nesting
2. Reload Studio to refresh its view of the file, then retry the move
3. Create the destination folder first, then move the composition
4. Move the composition manually inside the <Folder> in the editor

Example fix

// before (destination folder missing)
<Root>
  <Composition id="MyComp" ... />
</Root>

// after (create the folder, then the move succeeds)
<Root>
  <Folder name="Dest">
    <Composition id="MyComp" ... />
  </Folder>
</Root>

const folders = collectFolderNames(input); // parse file, extract <Folder name=...> + nesting
if (!folders.some((f) => f.name === destFolderName && f.parent === destParentName)) {
  throw new Error(`Destination folder "${destFolderName}" not found in Root file`);
}

try {
  editFolderInSource({codeMod, input});
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && e.message === 'Could not locate the destination folder') {
    // create the folder first, then retry the move
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling the codemod with a folderName/parentName pair for which getFolder() finds no <Folder name=...> direct/located element — the destination folder was deleted, renamed, nested differently, or never existed in this Root file.

Common situations: Stale Studio UI state after the destination folder was renamed or removed in another editor/window; moving a composition into a folder that lives in a different Root file; nested folder path given as a flat name.

Understand the failure class

Background: Record Not Found Errors: "not found", RecordNotFound, and "was not found" — what they mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

• Could not find folder
• Could not find target folder
• Could not locate the folder to rename
• Could not locate the JSX element to move
• Could not locate the new folder

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@46a3a6bf13 (2026-09-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3623a57c0feee758. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at packages/studio-codemods/src/folder-source-edits.ts:405

	if (codeMod.type === 'move-composition-to-folder') {
		if (codeMod.folderName === null) {
			const root = getRegistrationRoot(source.path);
			insertionEdit = getInsertionRootSourceEdit({
				input,
				insertion,
				root: root as never,
				nullRoot: null,
				prettierConfigOverride: null,
				insertInside: root.type === 'JSXFragment',
			});
		} else {
			const destination = getFolder({
				folderName: codeMod.folderName,
				items,
				parentName: codeMod.parentName,
			});
			if (destination === null) {
				throw new Error('Could not locate the destination folder');
			}

			insertionEdit = getInsertionRootSourceEdit({
				input,
				insertion,
				root: destination.node as never,
				nullRoot: null,
				prettierConfigOverride: null,
				insertInside: true,
			});
		}
	} else if (codeMod.destination.type === 'root') {
		const root = getRegistrationRoot(source.path);
		insertionEdit = getInsertionRootSourceEdit({
			input,
			insertion,
			root: root as never,
			nullRoot: null,

View on GitHub (pinned to 46a3a6bf13)