vuejs/vue-cli · error · Error

Plugin ${id} does not have a generator.

Error message

Plugin ${id} does not have a generator.

What it means

Thrown during `vue invoke <plugin>` when the plugin is installed and resolved, but it does not export a generator module (i.e., loadModule('<id>/generator') returns null/undefined). The invoke mechanism requires a generator to apply or re-apply the plugin's modifications; without one there is nothing to invoke.

Source

Thrown at packages/@vue/cli/lib/invoke.js:55

      return name
    }
    // full id, scoped short, or default short
    if (deps[(name = resolvePluginId(pluginName))]) {
      return name
    }
  }

  const id = findPlugin(pkg.devDependencies) || findPlugin(pkg.dependencies)
  if (!id) {
    throw new Error(
      `Cannot resolve plugin ${chalk.yellow(pluginName)} from package.json. ` +
        `Did you forget to install it?`
    )
  }

  const pluginGenerator = loadModule(`${id}/generator`, context)
  if (!pluginGenerator) {
    throw new Error(`Plugin ${id} does not have a generator.`)
  }

  // resolve options if no command line options (other than --registry) are passed,
  // and the plugin contains a prompt module.
  // eslint-disable-next-line prefer-const
  let { registry, $inlineOptions, ...pluginOptions } = options
  if ($inlineOptions) {
    try {
      pluginOptions = JSON.parse($inlineOptions)
    } catch (e) {
      throw new Error(`Couldn't parse inline options JSON: ${e.message}`)
    }
  } else if (!Object.keys(pluginOptions).length) {
    let pluginPrompts = loadModule(`${id}/prompts`, context)
    if (pluginPrompts) {
      const prompt = inquirer.createPromptModule()

      if (typeof pluginPrompts === 'function') {

View on GitHub (pinned to 7eb93c169c)

Solutions

1. Check if the plugin has a generator entry: look for node_modules/<plugin>/generator.js or node_modules/<plugin>/generator/index.js.
2. Reinstall the plugin to ensure a complete package: npm install -D <plugin>@latest.
3. If the plugin genuinely has no generator, it cannot be invoked — contact the plugin author or use the plugin's own CLI if it has one.

Example fix

# before
$ vue invoke some-broken-plugin
Error: Plugin some-broken-plugin does not have a generator.
# after
$ ls node_modules/some-broken-plugin/generator.js  # confirm missing
$ npm install -D some-broken-plugin@latest  # reinstall
$ vue invoke some-broken-plugin

const { existsSync } = require('fs');
const hasGenerator = existsSync(`node_modules/${pluginId}/generator.js`) ||
  existsSync(`node_modules/${pluginId}/generator/index.js`);
if (!hasGenerator) {
  console.error(`Plugin ${pluginId} has no generator module and cannot be invoked.`);
}

try {
  await invoke(pluginName, options);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.includes('does not have a generator')) {
    console.error(`This plugin cannot be invoked. Check node_modules/${pluginName}/generator.js.`);
    process.exit(1);
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `vue invoke <plugin>` on a package that exists in node_modules but has no generator.js, generator/index.js, or generator entry in its package.json. This can happen with malformed, incomplete, or non-standard plugin packages.

Common situations: The plugin package is corrupted, partially published, or is not actually a Vue CLI plugin (just a regular npm package with a similar name). The plugin's main field points elsewhere and no generator subpath exists.

Related errors

• Cannot resolve plugin ${pluginName} from package.json. Did y
• 'url' and 'path' can't be defined at the same time.
• Can't find ${packageName} in package.json
• Couldn't parse inline options JSON: ${e.message}

AI-assisted analysis of vuejs/vue-cli@7eb93c169c (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b49a29fa715324aa. Report an issue: GitHub.