What causes "Active instance ${activeName} not found in config" in windmill-labs/windmill?

Run 'wmill instance add' (or select another instance) to reset the active pointer to an existing profile

windmill-labs/windmill · error · Error

Active instance ${activeName} not found in config

Error message

Active instance ${activeName} not found in config

What it means

resolveInstance read an active instance name from local settings but could not find a matching profile among saved instances — the active pointer is stale/dangling. It throws this naming the missing profile.

Source

Thrown at cli/src/commands/instance/slack.ts:25

async function resolveInstance(
  instanceName: string | undefined
): Promise<Instance> {
  if (instanceName) {
    const match = (await allInstances()).find((i) => i.name === instanceName);
    if (!match) {
      throw new Error(`No local instance profile named ${instanceName}`);
    }
    return match;
  }
  const activeName = await getActiveInstance({});
  if (!activeName) {
    throw new Error(
      "No active instance. Run 'wmill instance add' or pass --instance."
    );
  }
  const match = (await allInstances()).find((i) => i.name === activeName);
  if (!match) {
    throw new Error(`Active instance ${activeName} not found in config`);
  }
  return match;
}

export async function connectSlackInstance(opts: {
  instance?: string;
  botToken: string;
  teamId: string;
  teamName: string;
}) {
  const instance = await resolveInstance(opts.instance);
  setClient(
    instance.token,
    instance.remote.substring(0, instance.remote.length - 1)
  );

  await wmill.connectSlackInstance({
    requestBody: {

View on GitHub (pinned to e474e8803c)

Solutions

Run 'wmill instance add' (or select another instance) to reset the active pointer to an existing profile
Or pass --instance <existing-name> explicitly for this command
Inspect the wmill settings/config file and remove the stale active entry
Avoid deleting the currently active instance without re-selecting one

Example fix

// before: active points to deleted profile 'old'
wmill instance delete old
wmill instance slack sync  # throws
// after
wmill instance add https://app.windmill.dev <token> --name prod  # becomes active
wmill instance slack sync

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const active = await getActiveInstance({});
const profiles = await allInstances();
if (active && !profiles.some(i => i.name === active)) {
  console.warn(`Active instance '${active}' is stale; re-run 'wmill instance add'`);
}

Try / catch

try {
  await wmillInstanceSlack({});
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e).includes("not found in config")) {
    console.error("Active instance was deleted; select a profile: wmill instance add");
  }
}

Prevention

After 'wmill instance delete', immediately add/select a new active instance
Don't hand-edit the wmill settings file; use CLI commands to keep state consistent
Periodically verify active instance with 'wmill whoami'
Pass --instance explicitly to bypass the active pointer

When it happens

Trigger: The settings file still records active instance <name>, but 'wmill instance delete <name>' (or manual config editing) removed that profile while leaving it active.

Common situations: Deleting the active instance profile; syncing or partially overwriting the wmill settings file between machines; hand-editing the config and breaking the active-name/profile consistency.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of windmill-labs/windmill@e474e8803c (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d287e32ccf31bfa0. Report an issue: GitHub.