twigphp/Twig · error · Twig\Error\LoaderError

Template " " does not exist.

Error message

Template "%s" does not exist.

What it means

A custom Twig LoaderError thrown by a loader's getSourceContext() when the storage backend (here a database via dbh/getValue) returns no source for the requested template name. Twig loaders must throw LoaderError from getSourceContext when a template cannot be located, so the engine (or exists()) can report the missing template clearly.

Solutions

1. Verify the template name exists in the storage backend for the configured connection.
2. Check $this->dbh connection settings and that getValue() queries the right table/column.
3. Call $twig->getLoader()->exists($name) (or exists()) before rendering and fall back to a default template.
4. Ensure templates are seeded/deployed to the backend before referencing them.

Example fix

// before
return $twig->render('emails/welcome.twig', $ctx);
// after
if ($twig->getLoader()->exists('emails/welcome.twig')) {
    return $twig->render('emails/welcome.twig', $ctx);
}
return $twig->render('emails/default.twig', $ctx);

if (!$loader->exists($templateName)) { /* fallback or log */ }

try {
    $html = $twig->render($name, $ctx);
} catch (\Twig\Error\LoaderError $e) {
    $logger->warning('Template missing: ' . $name);
    $html = $twig->render('fallback.twig', $ctx);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling $twig->render('name') or $loader->getSourceContext('name') where the lookup row for 'name' is absent in the data source (getValue returns false); a stale/cached template name referenced by an include/extends whose row was deleted.

Common situations: Database-backed template storage where templates were migrated or purged; typo in template name; deploying code referencing templates not yet seeded into the DB; wrong table/connection configured for the loader.

Understand the failure class

Background: 'Could not be found', 'does not exist', 'not found in database': the resource-not-found family when an ID, slug, key, or URI lookup comes back empty — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• Unable to find one of the following templates
• Template " " is not defined .
• Template " " is not defined.
• Template " " is not defined.
• There are no registered paths for namespace

AI-assisted analysis of twigphp/Twig@a414c3a491 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5b41ec20473499bd. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at doc/recipes.rst:426

We have created a simple ``templates`` table that hosts two templates:
``base.html.twig`` and ``index.html.twig``.

Now, let's define a loader able to use this database::

    class DatabaseTwigLoader implements \Twig\Loader\LoaderInterface
    {
        protected $dbh;

        public function __construct(PDO $dbh)
        {
            $this->dbh = $dbh;
        }

        public function getSourceContext(string $name): Source
        {
            if (false === $source = $this->getValue('source', $name)) {
                throw new \Twig\Error\LoaderError(sprintf('Template "%s" does not exist.', $name));
            }

            return new \Twig\Source($source, $name);
        }

        public function exists(string $name)
        {
            return $name === $this->getValue('name', $name);
        }

        public function getCacheKey(string $name): string
        {
            return $name;
        }

        public function isFresh(string $name, int $time): bool
        {
            if (false === $lastModified = $this->getValue('last_modified', $name)) {

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