rust-lang/cargo · error · anyhow::Error

the crate `{dependency}` could not be found at `{source}`

Error message

the crate `{dependency}` could not be found at `{source}`

What it means

During `select_package`, cargo queries the resolved source (path or git) for packages matching the dependency. If the query returns zero candidates, it bails at mod.rs:1014 — the named crate does not exist at the given path or git source. This is distinct from a registry 404: it means the *local/git* source had no matching package.

Source

Thrown at src/ops/cargo_add/mod.rs:1014

        }
        MaybeWorkspace::Other(query) => {
            let possibilities =
                crate::util::block_on(registry.query_vec(&query, QueryKind::Normalized))?;

            let possibilities: Vec<_> = possibilities
                .into_iter()
                .filter_map(|s| match s {
                    IndexSummary::Candidate(s) => Some(s),
                    _ => None,
                })
                .collect();

            match possibilities.len() {
                0 => {
                    let source = dependency
                        .source()
                        .expect("source should be resolved before here");
                    anyhow::bail!("the crate `{dependency}` could not be found at `{source}`")
                }
                1 => {
                    let mut dep = Dependency::from(&possibilities[0]);
                    if let Some(reg_name) = dependency.registry.as_deref() {
                        dep = dep.set_registry(reg_name);
                    }
                    if let Some(Source::Path(PathSource { base, .. })) = dependency.source() {
                        if let Some(Source::Path(dep_src)) = &mut dep.source {
                            dep_src.base = base.clone();
                        }
                    }
                    Ok(dep)
                }
                _ => {
                    let source = dependency
                        .source()
                        .expect("source should be resolved before here");
                    anyhow::bail!(

View on GitHub (pinned to 0e07a15537)

Solutions

1. Verify the package name with `cargo metadata --manifest-path <path>/Cargo.toml` (the `name` field) and use that exact name.
2. For git repos with multiple packages, let cargo infer or disambiguate: `cargo add --git <url> <exact-package-name>`.
3. Correct the `--path` to point at the directory containing the target crate's `Cargo.toml`.

Example fix

# before
cargo add --path ./libs wrong-name

# after
cargo add --path ./libs actual-package-name

// Verify the package exists at the path/git source before calling add().
use std::path::Path;
fn package_exists_at(path: &Path, expected_name: &str) -> bool {
    let manifest = path.join("Cargo.toml");
    let Ok(text) = std::fs::read_to_string(&manifest) else { return false };
    toml_edit::ImDocument::parse(&text)
        .ok()
        .and_then(|d| d.as_table().get("package")?.as_table()?.get("name")?.as_str().map(|s| s == expected_name))
        .unwrap_or(false)
}

When it happens

Trigger: `cargo add --path ./wrong-dir mycrate` where that directory has no crate named `mycrate`, or `cargo add --git <url> mycrate` where the repo contains no matching package. The `select_package` match count is 0.

Common situations: Typo in crate name vs. package name, pointing `--path` at a subdirectory that is not a crate root, or a git repo where the package name differs from the crate binary name.

Related errors

• unexpectedly found multiple copies of crate `{dependency}` a
• `{feature}` is unsupported when inferring the crate name, us
• cannot add `{}` as a dependency to itself
• cannot specify a git URL (`{url}`) with a version (`{v}`).
• cannot specify a path (`{raw_path}`) with a version (`{v}`).

AI-assisted analysis of rust-lang/cargo@0e07a15537 (2026-08-06). Data as JSON: /data/errors/c3c5a2b2fa2bdf64.json. Report an issue: GitHub.