vitest-dev/vitest · error · Error

This command can only be called inside a test file.

Error message

This command can only be called inside a test file.

What it means

resolveTracesPath is an internal helper that computes the on-disk path for a trace zip: either under `browser.trace.tracesDir` or beside the test file in `__traces__/<testFile>/`. It needs testPath to build the default directory. When called outside a test (testPath undefined) it throws. This is reached indirectly via startChunkTrace/stopChunkTrace.

Solutions

1. Ensure trace chunk commands run only inside an executing test (handled by the runner — if seen, you are calling internals directly or hit a runner bug).
2. Run the file under `pool: 'browser'` and matching `include` so testPath is set.
3. Set `browser.trace.tracesDir` for deterministic output, but note the testPath guard still applies.

// internal helper guard — only relevant if you call resolveTracesPath yourself
function safeResolveTracesPath(ctx: { testPath?: string }) {
  if (!ctx.testPath) throw new Error('resolveTracesPath requires a testPath')
  // ...
}

function hasTestPath<T extends { testPath?: string }>(c: T): c is T & { testPath: string } {
  return !!c.testPath
}

When it happens

Trigger: A trace chunk command (start/stop) is dispatched with a BrowserCommandContext that has no testPath — e.g. during global hooks, between tests, or from a non-browser pool.

Common situations: Tracing enabled but the test is run in a context without a bound file (global teardown, manual invocation of internal trace APIs).

Related errors

• provider is not supported
• stopChunkTrace cannot be called outside of the test file.
• Browser is not initialized
• Access denied to " ". See Vite config documentation for…
• Browser provider is not defined for the project

AI-assisted analysis of vitest-dev/vitest@1fa9837ec2 (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e17aed2ac24cecdf. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at packages/browser-playwright/src/commands/trace.ts:144

      return
    }
    await context.context.tracing.groupEnd()
    return
  }
  throw new TypeError(`The ${context.provider.name} provider does not support tracing.`)
}

function parseLocation(context: BrowserCommandContext, stack?: string): ParsedStack | undefined {
  if (!stack) {
    return
  }
  const parsedStacks = context.project.browser!.parseStacktrace(stack)
  return parsedStacks[0]
}

function resolveTracesPath({ testPath, project }: BrowserCommandContext, name: string) {
  if (!testPath) {
    throw new Error(`This command can only be called inside a test file.`)
  }
  const options = project.config.browser!.trace
  const sanitizedName = `${project.name.replace(/[^a-z0-9]/gi, '-')}-${name}.trace.zip`
  if (options.tracesDir) {
    return resolve(options.tracesDir, sanitizedName)
  }
  const dir = dirname(testPath)
  const base = basename(testPath)
  return resolve(
    dir,
    '__traces__',
    base,
    `${project.name.replace(/[^a-z0-9]/gi, '-')}-${name}.trace.zip`,
  )
}

export const deleteTracing: BrowserCommand<[{ traces: string[] }]> = async (
  context,

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