serverless/serverless · error · ServerlessError

INVOKE_LOCAL_INVALID_ENV_VARIABLE

INVOKE_LOCAL_INVALID_ENV_VARIABLE

Error message

Could not resolve "${name}" environment variable: ${error.message}

What it means

Error "Could not resolve "${name}" environment variable: ${error.message}" thrown in serverless/serverless.

Source

Thrown at packages/serverless/lib/plugins/aws/invoke-local/index.js:291

        try {
          if (value['Fn::ImportValue']) {
            configuredEnvVars[name] = await resolveCfImportValue(
              this.provider,
              value['Fn::ImportValue'],
            )
          } else if (value.Ref) {
            configuredEnvVars[name] = await resolveCfRefValue(
              this.provider,
              value.Ref,
            )
          } else {
            throw new ServerlessError(
              `Unsupported environment variable format: ${inspect(value)}`,
              'INVOKE_LOCAL_UNSUPPORTED_ENV_VARIABLE',
            )
          }
        } catch (error) {
          throw new ServerlessError(
            `Could not resolve "${name}" environment variable: ${error.message}`,
            'INVOKE_LOCAL_INVALID_ENV_VARIABLE',
          )
        }
      }),
    )

    return configuredEnvVars
  }

  async loadEnvVars() {
    const lambdaName = this.options.functionObj.name
    const memorySize =
      Number(this.options.functionObj.memorySize) ||
      Number(this.serverless.service.provider.memorySize) ||
      1024

    const lambdaDefaultEnvVars = {

View on GitHub (pinned to b9d7ea51c8)

Solutions

1. Define the named environment variable in your shell or in the provider.environment section of serverless.yml before running invoke local.
2. Check for typos in the variable name referenced by your serverless.yml variable syntax.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/serverless/lib/plugins/aws/invoke-local/index.js:291 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of serverless/serverless@b9d7ea51c8 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7c23e2977431f11f. Report an issue: GitHub.