vuejs/vue-cli · error · Error

Can't find ${packageName} in package.json

Error message

Can't find ${packageName} in package.json

What it means

Thrown by Upgrader.upgrade when the specified plugin cannot be found in any of dependencies, devDependencies, or optionalDependencies in the project's package.json. The upgrader resolves the plugin ID, then searches all dependency types; if none contains it, the plugin is not declared as a project dependency.

Source

Thrown at packages/@vue/cli/lib/Upgrader.js:66

      await this.upgrade(p.name, { to: p.latest })
    }

    done('All plugins are up to date!')
  }

  async upgrade (pluginId, options) {
    const packageName = resolvePluginId(pluginId)

    let depEntry, required
    for (const depType of ['dependencies', 'devDependencies', 'optionalDependencies']) {
      if (this.pkg[depType] && this.pkg[depType][packageName]) {
        depEntry = depType
        required = this.pkg[depType][packageName]
        break
      }
    }
    if (!required) {
      throw new Error(`Can't find ${chalk.yellow(packageName)} in ${chalk.yellow('package.json')}`)
    }

    const installed = options.from || this.pm.getInstalledVersion(packageName)
    if (!installed) {
      throw new Error(
        `Can't find ${chalk.yellow(packageName)} in ${chalk.yellow('node_modules')}. Please install the dependencies first.\n` +
        `Or to force upgrade, you can specify your current plugin version with the ${chalk.cyan('--from')} option`
      )
    }

    let targetVersion = options.to || 'latest'
    // if the targetVersion is not an exact version
    if (!/\d+\.\d+\.\d+/.test(targetVersion)) {
      if (targetVersion === 'latest') {
        logWithSpinner(`Getting latest version of ${packageName}`)
      } else {
        logWithSpinner(`Getting max satisfying version of ${packageName}@${options.to}`)
      }

View on GitHub (pinned to 7eb93c169c)

Solutions

1. Verify the plugin name matches an entry in package.json — use `npm list | grep vue-cli-plugin` or check the file directly.
2. Install the plugin first: npm install -D <plugin-name>, then run vue upgrade.
3. Check for typos: the plugin name can omit the (@vue/|vue-|@scope/vue)-cli-plugin- prefix but must resolve correctly.

Example fix

# before
$ vue upgrade babel  # not in package.json
# after
$ npm install -D @vue/cli-plugin-babel
$ vue upgrade @vue/cli-plugin-babel

const pkg = require('./package.json');
const depTypes = ['dependencies', 'devDependencies', 'optionalDependencies'];
const isListed = depTypes.some(dt => pkg[dt] && pkg[dt][pluginName]);
if (!isListed) {
  console.error(`${pluginName} is not in package.json. Install it first.`);
}

try {
  await upgrader.upgrade(pluginId, options);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.includes("Can't find") && e.message.includes('package.json')) {
    console.error(`Plugin not in package.json. Run: npm install -D ${pluginId}`);
    process.exit(1);
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `vue upgrade <plugin>` where <plugin> is not listed in package.json dependencies/devDependencies. Or running `vue upgrade` with a typo in the plugin name.

Common situations: User typos the plugin name, or the plugin was never installed (only scaffolded files exist). The plugin was removed from package.json but the user still tries to upgrade it.

Related errors

• Cannot resolve plugin ${pluginName} from package.json. Did y
• Can't find ${packageName} in node_modules. Please install th
• At least one dependency can't be found. Please install the d
• Cannot resolve "@vue/vue${vueVersion}-jest" module. Please m
• Cannot resolve "ts-jest" module. Typescript preset requires

AI-assisted analysis of vuejs/vue-cli@7eb93c169c (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c6bd04461a1c2c0b. Report an issue: GitHub.