vitejs/vite · error · Error

import.meta.resolve is not supported in CJS config files

Error message

import.meta.resolve is not supported in CJS config files

What it means

Injected into the bundled config source when the config file is CommonJS but its code references `import.meta.resolve`. Vite shims `import.meta` variables in CJS configs, and since `import.meta.resolve` is an ESM-only runtime feature with no CJS equivalent, it injects a thunk that throws this message at call time. It is produced by the `inject-file-scope-variables` transform (config.ts:2626) only on the `!isESM` branch.

Source

Thrown at packages/vite/src/node/config.ts:2626

        name: 'inject-file-scope-variables',
        transform: {
          filter: { id: /\.[cm]?[jt]s$/ },
          handler(code, id) {
            let injectValues =
              `const ${dirnameVarName} = ${JSON.stringify(path.dirname(id))};` +
              `const ${filenameVarName} = ${JSON.stringify(id)};` +
              `const ${importMetaUrlVarName} = ${JSON.stringify(
                pathToFileURL(id).href,
              )};`
            if (importMetaResolveRegex.test(code)) {
              if (isESM) {
                if (!importMetaResolverRegistered) {
                  importMetaResolverRegistered = true
                  createImportMetaResolver()
                }
                injectValues += `const ${importMetaResolveVarName} = (specifier, importer = ${importMetaUrlVarName}) => (${importMetaResolveWithCustomHookString})(specifier, importer);`
              } else {
                injectValues += `const ${importMetaResolveVarName} = (specifier, importer = ${importMetaUrlVarName}) => { throw new Error('import.meta.resolve is not supported in CJS config files') };`
              }
            }

            let injectedContents: string
            if (code.startsWith('#!')) {
              const fileStartIndex = getFileStartIndex(code)
              const hashbang = code.slice(0, fileStartIndex)
              injectedContents =
                hashbang +
                (lineTerminatorRE.test(hashbang) ? '' : '\n') +
                injectValues +
                code.slice(fileStartIndex)
            } else {
              injectedContents = injectValues + code
            }

            return {
              code: injectedContents,

View on GitHub (pinned to 89620f09af)

Solutions

Convert the config to ESM (rename to `vite.config.mjs` or set `"type": "module"`) so the real `import.meta.resolve` shim is wired up.
Replace `import.meta.resolve(spec)` with `require.resolve(spec)` (and a `pathToFileURL`/`fileURLToPath` dance) while staying in CJS.
Use `createRequire(import.meta.url).resolve(...)` only after moving to ESM — it is not available in pure CJS either.

Example fix

// before (vite.config.cjs)
const resolved = import.meta.resolve('./src/entry') // throws

// after (vite.config.mjs)
const resolved = import.meta.resolve('./src/entry')

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Reject import.meta.resolve usage in CJS configs before bundling
const isCjs = configPath.endsWith('.cjs') || (configPath.endsWith('.js') && pkg.type !== 'module')
if (isCjs && /import\.meta\.resolve/.test(fs.readFileSync(configPath, 'utf8'))) {
  throw new Error('import.meta.resolve is unavailable in CJS configs; use .mjs')
}

Type guard

function isEsmConfig(p: string): boolean {
  return p.endsWith('.mjs') || (p.endsWith('.js') && require('./package.json').type === 'module')
}

Prevention

Keep all Vite configs in ESM (.mjs or "type": "module").
Use require.resolve() as the CJS equivalent when you must stay CJS.

When it happens

Trigger: Authoring a `vite.config.cjs` (or any config bundled to CJS) that calls `import.meta.resolve(...)`. At runtime, when that call executes, the injected stub throws.

Common situations: Copy-pasting config snippets from ESM examples into a CJS config; using `import.meta.resolve` to locate a path in a project that hasn't enabled `"type": "module"`; migrating partially to ESM tooling.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of vitejs/vite@89620f09af (2026-08-03). Data as JSON: /data/errors/305a624024ff5c73.json. Report an issue: GitHub.