wasmerio/wasmer · error · anyhow::Error

The --use_local_manifest flag was passed, but path {} does n

Error message

The --use_local_manifest flag was passed, but path {} does not contain a valid package manifest.

What it means

When --use-local-manifest is passed, `wasmer app create` expects the app directory to contain a valid package manifest (wasmer.toml/Cargo.toml-derived). If load_package_manifest returns None and the flag was set, it bails. The library throws it because the flag explicitly promises a local manifest that does not exist.

Source

Thrown at lib/cli/src/commands/app/create.rs:277

        owner: &str,
        app_name: &str,
    ) -> anyhow::Result<bool> {
        if (!self.use_local_manifest && self.non_interactive)
            || self.template.is_some()
            || self.package.is_some()
        {
            return Ok(false);
        }

        let app_dir = match &self.app_dir_path {
            Some(dir) => PathBuf::from(dir),
            None => std::env::current_dir()?,
        };

        let (manifest_path, _) = if let Some(res) = load_package_manifest(&app_dir)? {
            res
        } else if self.use_local_manifest {
            anyhow::bail!(
                "The --use_local_manifest flag was passed, but path {} does not contain a valid package manifest.",
                app_dir.display()
            )
        } else {
            return Ok(false);
        };

        let ask_confirmation = || {
            eprintln!(
                "A package manifest was found in path {}.",
                &manifest_path.display()
            );
            let theme = dialoguer::theme::ColorfulTheme::default();
            Confirm::with_theme(&theme)
                .with_prompt("Use it for the app?")
                .interact()
        };

View on GitHub (pinned to 8c4b9ee9d3)

Solutions

1. Run the command from the directory containing a valid wasmer.toml (or add one).
2. Remove --use-local-manifest to let the CLI fall back to creating from a package/template.
3. Fix the manifest (validate wasmer.toml syntax and required fields).

Example fix

// before
// wasmer app create --use-local-manifest   (no wasmer.toml here)
// after
// cd path/with/wasmer.toml && wasmer app create --use-local-manifest
// (or drop the flag)

if (args.useLocalManifest && !fs.existsSync('wasmer.toml')) {
  throw new Error('--use-local-manifest set but no wasmer.toml in cwd');
}

fn has_local_manifest(dir: &Path) -> bool {
    dir.join("wasmer.toml").is_file()
}

match result {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("--use_local_manifest") || e.to_string().contains("use_local_manifest") => {
        eprintln!("no manifest found; re-run without the flag or from package root");
    }
    other => other?,
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `wasmer app create --use-local-manifest` in (or with --dir pointing to) a directory lacking a loadable package manifest.

Common situations: Wrong working directory; manifest named/located incorrectly; forgetting to run in the package root; manifest parse failure upstream resulting in None.

Related errors

• Stopping as the directory is not empty
• No template selected
• Cannot create app from template in offline mode
• No app name specified: use --name <app_name>
• No owner specified: use --owner <owner>

AI-assisted analysis of wasmerio/wasmer@8c4b9ee9d3 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b9ca4fb3cf290975. Report an issue: GitHub.