yarnpkg/yarn · error · MessageError

moduleNotInManifest

Error message

moduleNotInManifest

What it means

For each requested package, yarn scans the registries/folders looking for it in a manifest; the `found` flag must become true (remove.js, loop ending around :73). If the package is not declared as a dependency anywhere, it throws moduleNotInManifest—you cannot remove what isn't installed.

Source

Thrown at src/cli/commands/remove.js:75

      for (const type of constants.DEPENDENCY_TYPES) {
        const deps = object[type];
        if (deps && deps[name]) {
          found = true;
          delete deps[name];
        }
      }

      const possibleManifestLoc = path.join(config.cwd, registry.folder, name);
      if (await fs.exists(possibleManifestLoc)) {
        const manifest = await config.maybeReadManifest(possibleManifestLoc, registryName);
        if (manifest) {
          manifests.push([possibleManifestLoc, manifest]);
        }
      }
    }

    if (!found) {
      throw new MessageError(reporter.lang('moduleNotInManifest'));
    }
  }

  // save manifests
  await config.saveRootManifests(rootManifests);

  // run hooks - npm runs these one after another
  for (const action of ['preuninstall', 'uninstall', 'postuninstall']) {
    for (const [loc] of manifests) {
      await config.executeLifecycleScript(action, loc);
    }
  }

  // reinstall so we can get the updated lockfile
  reporter.step(++step, totalSteps, reporter.lang('uninstallRegenerate'), emoji.get('hammer'));
  const installFlags = {force: true, workspaceRootIsCwd: true, ...flags};
  const reinstall = new Install(installFlags, config, new NoopReporter(), lockfile);
  await reinstall.init();

View on GitHub (pinned to c2dda503f3)

Solutions

1. Check the manifest: `node -p "Object.keys(require('./package.json').dependencies||{})"` and confirm the exact name spelling.
2. If it's only transitive, you cannot remove it directly—instead update the package that brings it in, or run `yarn dedupe`/upgrade.
3. If you're in a monorepo, ensure you're in the workspace whose package.json actually declares the dependency.
4. Re-add the dependency first if you need to manage it through `yarn remove`.

Example fix

# before
$ yarn remove lodahs   # typo -> moduleNotInManifest
# after
$ yarn remove lodash

const manifest = require('./package.json');
function isDeclaredDependency(name, pkg) {
  const groups = ['dependencies','devDependencies','optionalDependencies','peerDependencies'];
  return groups.some(g => pkg[g] && Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(pkg[g], name));
}
if (!isDeclaredDependency(name, manifest)) {
  throw new Error(`'${name}' is not declared in this package.json; cannot remove.`);
}

function isDeclaredDependency(name, pkg) {
  const groups = ['dependencies','devDependencies','optionalDependencies','peerDependencies'];
  return typeof pkg === 'object' && pkg !== null &&
    groups.some(g => pkg[g] && Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(pkg[g], name));
}

try {
  await runYarn(['remove', name]);
} catch (e) {
  if (/moduleNotInManifest/.test(e.message)) {
    console.error(`'${name}' is not a direct dependency here; check spelling/workspace.`);
    return;
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `yarn remove <pkg>` where `<pkg>` is not listed in dependencies/devDependencies/optionalDependencies/peerDependencies of the current (or relevant) manifest.

Common situations: Typo in the package name; the package is only a transitive dependency (not directly listed); it was already removed; it lives in a different workspace than the CWD.

Related errors

• unknownPackageName
• noName
• noVersion
• noName
• tooFewArguments

AI-assisted analysis of yarnpkg/yarn@c2dda503f3 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f64801001ac654e2. Report an issue: GitHub.