yarnpkg/yarn · error · Error

couldn't find

Error message

couldn't find ${name}

What it means

In checkOutdated(), the unfiltered registry request for a package returns a falsy value, meaning the registry returned no packument for the name. Without that data Yarn cannot compute outdated status.

Solutions

1. Verify the package name is spelled correctly and still published (npm view <name>)
2. Ensure auth tokens are configured for private/scoped packages
3. Switch to the canonical npm registry if using a lagging mirror
4. Remove the package from package.json if it has been unpublished

// Pre-check package existence before calling checkOutdated
const exists = await registry.request(escapedName, {unfiltered: true});
if (!exists) {
  console.warn(`Package ${name} not found in registry; skipping outdated check`);
}

function hasRegistryEntry(response: object | null): boolean {
  return response != null && typeof response === 'object';
}

try {
  await npmRegistry.checkOutdated(config, name, range);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.includes("couldn't find")) {
    // skip this package in the outdated report
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: yarn outdated or upgrade-interactive for a package whose registry request returns null/empty. The `if (!req)` guard fires.

Common situations: Package was unpublished or renamed; private package requiring missing auth; registry mirror without the package; typo in package name.

Related errors

• Couldn't find package $0 required by $1 on the $2 registry.
• packageNotFoundRegistry
• publishFail
• Unexpected audit response (Invalid JSON)
• hostedGitResolveError

AI-assisted analysis of yarnpkg/yarn@c2dda503f3 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/03f85e6aef9927c2. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/registries/npm-registry.js:224

    const config = this.config;
    const requestParts = urlParts(requestUrl);
    return !!Object.keys(config).find(option => {
      const parts = option.split(':');
      if ((parts.length === 2 && parts[1] === '_authToken') || parts[1] === '_password') {
        const registryParts = urlParts(parts[0]);
        if (requestParts.host === registryParts.host && requestParts.path.startsWith(registryParts.path)) {
          return true;
        }
      }
      return false;
    });
  }

  async checkOutdated(config: Config, name: string, range: string): CheckOutdatedReturn {
    const escapedName = NpmRegistry.escapeName(name);
    const req = await this.request(escapedName, {unfiltered: true});
    if (!req) {
      throw new Error(`couldn't find ${name}`);
    }

    // By default use top level 'repository' and 'homepage' values
    let {repository, homepage} = req;
    const wantedPkg = await NpmResolver.findVersionInRegistryResponse(config, escapedName, range, req);

    // But some local repositories like Verdaccio do not return 'repository' nor 'homepage'
    // in top level data structure, so we fallback to wanted package manifest
    if (!repository && !homepage) {
      repository = wantedPkg.repository;
      homepage = wantedPkg.homepage;
    }

    let latest = req['dist-tags'].latest;
    // In certain cases, registries do not return a 'latest' tag.
    if (!latest) {
      latest = wantedPkg.version;
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to c2dda503f3)