vitest-dev/vitest · error · Error

No projects were found. Make sure your configuration is corr

Error message

No projects were found. Make sure your configuration is correct. ${globalConfig.project.length ? `The filter matched no projects: ${globalConfig.project.join(', ')}. ` : ''}The projects definition: ${JSON.stringify(definitions.map((p, index) => typeof p === 'string' ? p : p instanceof Promise ? 'Promise' : typeof p === 'function' ? p.name : ({ name: p.test?.name ?? index })), null, 4)}.

What it means

Thrown at the end of resolution (resolveProjects.ts:198-216) when projects were declared (definitions is truthy) but after browser/benchmark expansion and the --project filter, no visible entry remains. The message echoes the --project filter (if any) and a JSON dump of the raw definitions so you can see what was tried.

Source

Thrown at packages/vitest/src/node/projects/resolveProjects.ts:199

  const seenNamesSet = new Set(seenNames.keys())

  // Browser instance expansion (per-entry config injection).
  const afterBrowser = expandBrowserInstancesInEntries(globalConfig, baseEntries, seenNamesSet)

  // Benchmark expansion (per-entry config injection, runs over post-browser list).
  // `--benchmark` makes every project run as a benchmark.
  const afterBenchmark = expandBenchmarksInEntries(afterBrowser, seenNamesSet, !!globalConfig.cliOptions.benchmarkOnly)

  // --project filter (applied after expansion so all candidate names are known).
  const filtered = applyProjectFilter(globalConfig, afterBenchmark)

  // If the user declared `projects` (or workspace files) but the filter
  // excluded every candidate, throw with the projects definition included so
  // callers see what was tried. Skipped for the runtime `injectTestProjects`
  // path where filtering injected projects out is expected.
  const filterMatched = filtered.some(entry => !entry.hidden)
  if (throwIfEmpty && definitions && !filterMatched) {
    throw new Error(
      [
        'No projects were found. Make sure your configuration is correct. ',
        globalConfig.project.length ? `The filter matched no projects: ${globalConfig.project.join(', ')}. ` : '',
        `The projects definition: ${JSON.stringify(
          definitions.map((p, index) => typeof p === 'string'
            ? p
            : p instanceof Promise
              ? 'Promise'
              : typeof p === 'function'
                ? p.name
                : ({ name: p.test?.name ?? index })),
          null,
          4,
        )}.`,
      ].join(''),
    )
  }

View on GitHub (pinned to d568f8ce37)

Solutions

Drop or correct the --project filter so it matches at least one resolved project name.
Verify the projects globs/paths actually match files (run a dry glob yourself).
If projects: [] was set by mistake, remove it or provide at least one definition.
Inspect the dumped definitions JSON in the error to confirm names match your filter (use the same casing/label).

Example fix

// before
export default defineConfig({ test: { projects: ['packages/*/vitest.config.ts'] } })
// run: vitest --project=unit  (no project named 'unit')

// after: either fix the filter or the glob
vitest --project=web  // matches a real project name

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (definitions.length === 0 && throwIfEmpty) {
  throw new Error('projects array is empty')
}
const resolvedNames = entries.map(e => e.projectConfig.name)
if (filter.length && !resolvedNames.some(n => matchesProjectFilter(filter, n))) {
  throw new Error(`--project filter '${filter}' matches none of: ${resolvedNames.join(', ')}`)
}

Type guard

function filterMatchesAny(filter: string[], names: string[]): boolean {
  return names.some(n => matchesProjectFilter(filter, n))
}

Prevention

Dry-run globs to confirm they match files before adding to projects.
Keep CI's --project flags in sync with actual project names after renames.
Avoid projects: [] unless you intentionally want an empty workspace.

When it happens

Trigger: The projects array resolves to zero entries (e.g. globs match nothing); every project is hidden by an overly narrow --project filter; all definitions are Promises that reject (those surface in 287 instead) or filter out; definitions reference paths that produce no project.

Common situations: Running vitest --project=nonexistent where nonexistent matches nothing; a glob like 'packages/*/vitest.config.ts' in a repo with no such files; renaming projects but keeping an old --project flag in CI; misconfigured projects: [] (empty array treated as empty workspace).

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of vitest-dev/vitest@d568f8ce37 (2026-08-03). Data as JSON: /data/errors/21947d942de90f01.json. Report an issue: GitHub.