What causes "No recommended version found for ${TRANSFORMERS_PACKAGE}" in remotion-dev/remotion?

Ensure the extraPackages list passed to the function includes an entry for the transformers package with a valid version.

remotion-dev/remotion · error · Error

No recommended version found for ${TRANSFORMERS_PACKAGE}

Error message

No recommended version found for ${TRANSFORMERS_PACKAGE}

What it means

withRequiredAuxiliaryPackages looks up the recommended version of the transformers package (TRANSFORMERS_PACKAGE) inside the extraPackages list. If the list does not contain an entry for that package, this error is thrown. It is an internal invariant: the recommended-version catalog must always include transformers.

Source

Thrown at packages/studio/src/helpers/optional-package-dependencies.ts:26

]);

export const withRequiredAuxiliaryPackages = (
	dependencies: readonly PackageInstallSpec[],
): PackageInstallSpec[] => {
	if (
		!dependencies.some((dependency) =>
			packagesRequiringTransformers.has(dependency.name),
		) ||
		dependencies.some((dependency) => dependency.name === TRANSFORMERS_PACKAGE)
	) {
		return [...dependencies];
	}

	const transformers = extraPackages.find(
		(pkg) => pkg.name === TRANSFORMERS_PACKAGE,
	);
	if (!transformers) {
		throw new Error(`No recommended version found for ${TRANSFORMERS_PACKAGE}`);
	}

	return [
		...dependencies,
		{name: transformers.name, version: transformers.version},
	];
};

View on GitHub (pinned to b2f4e34732)

Solutions

Ensure the extraPackages list passed to the function includes an entry for the transformers package with a valid version.
Restore the default optional-package-dependencies catalog if it was customized or filtered.
Update @remotion/studio to the latest version so the built-in catalog matches the code expectation.
If self-hosting/forking, re-add {name: TRANSFORMERS_PACKAGE, version: <recommended>} to the list.

Example fix

// before
withRequiredAuxiliaryPackages(dependencies, extraPackages.filter(p => p.name !== 'remotion-transformers'));
// after
withRequiredAuxiliaryPackages(dependencies, extraPackages);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

if (!extraPackages.some(p => p.name === TRANSFORMERS_PACKAGE)) {
  throw new Error('extraPackages is missing the transformers entry');
}

Try / catch

try {
  return withRequiredAuxiliaryPackages(dependencies, extraPackages);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.startsWith('No recommended version found')) {
    extraPackages.push({name: TRANSFORMERS_PACKAGE, version: DEFAULT_VERSION});
    return withRequiredAuxiliaryPackages(dependencies, extraPackages);
  }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

Never filter the default optional-package-dependencies catalog.
Keep @remotion/studio updated so catalogs and code stay in sync.
In forks, assert the transformers entry exists in tests.
Log the extraPackages contents when customizing dependency lists.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling withRequiredAuxiliaryPackages with an extraPackages/dependencies array that lacks an entry whose name equals TRANSFORMERS_PACKAGE (e.g. after the catalog was modified or filtered).

Common situations: Custom builds of Remotion Studio where optional-dependency metadata was trimmed; upgrading Studio while a stale or incomplete dependency list is passed in.

Understand the failure class

Background: "not installed", "pip install", "required for": how missing-dependency errors surface across open-source libraries — this error's family across 34 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@b2f4e34732 (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/99b26bb3fc4d6ce1. Report an issue: GitHub.