zed-industries/zed · error

no version found for npm package {package_name} before {befo

Error message

no version found for npm package {package_name} before {before}

What it means

Zed's NodeRuntime resolves npm package versions with an optional `before` cutoff (an RFC3339 timestamp from configuration, e.g. to pin a language-server release). It walks the registry's version list newest-first, keeping only versions published before the cutoff (and matching any semver requirement); when nothing qualifies it bails with the package name and the cutoff value.

Source

Thrown at crates/node_runtime/src/node_runtime.rs:534

        if let Some(version) = latest_version
            && npm_version_was_published_before(version, &info.time, &before_timestamp)?
        {
            return Ok(version.clone());
        }

        for version in info.versions.iter().rev() {
            if is_allowed_npm_version_before(
                version,
                latest_version,
                &info.time,
                &before_timestamp,
                version_requirement.is_some(),
            )? {
                return Ok(version.clone());
            }
        }

        bail!("no version found for npm package {package_name} before {before}");
    }

    info.dist_tags
        .latest
        .or_else(|| info.versions.pop())
        .with_context(|| format!("no version found for npm package {package_name}"))
}

fn is_allowed_npm_version_before(
    version: &Version,
    latest_version: Option<&Version>,
    published_at_by_version: &HashMap<String, String>,
    before: &DateTime<Utc>,
    allow_prereleases: bool,
) -> Result<bool> {
    if (!allow_prereleases && !version.pre.is_empty())
        || latest_version.is_some_and(|latest_version| version > latest_version)
    {

View on GitHub (pinned to 9d272b0363)

Solutions

1. Update or remove the `before` timestamp in configuration so at least one published version qualifies
2. Relax the version requirement so a pre-cutoff version can match
3. Pin an explicit version instead of relying on the cutoff heuristic

Example fix

// before (config): npm package pinned by an old cutoff
"before": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z"

// after: cutoff newer than the release you want, or removed
"before": null

async fn version_exists_before(
    registry: &NpmInfo,
    requirement: Option<&VersionReq>,
    before: DateTime<Utc>,
) -> bool {
    registry.versions.iter().any(|v| {
        requirement.map_or(true, |r| r.matches(v))
            && registry
                .time
                .get(&v.to_string())
                .and_then(|t| DateTime::parse_from_rfc3339(t).ok())
                .map_or(false, |t| t.with_timezone(&Utc) < before)
    })
}

match select_npm_package_version(name, info.clone(), before, req) {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("before") => {
        // degrade gracefully: newest matching version instead of cutoff pin
        select_npm_package_version(name, info, None, req)
    }
    picked => picked,
}

When it happens

Trigger: select_npm_package_version is called with a `before` date where every version matching the requirement was published after that date, all candidate versions were yanked or lack publish-time entries in registry metadata, or the package is brand new and postdates the cutoff entirely.

Common situations: A `npm_before` style config pinning an old date while the language server package only ships newer releases; a strict version requirement combined with an old cutoff; sparse registry metadata missing `time` for the only matching version.

Related errors

• copilot was not started because of an error: {error}
• GitHub Copilot native language server binary was not install
• npm package {name} declares no executable
• copilot is still starting
• capability for npm:install {package_name} is not granted by

AI-assisted analysis of zed-industries/zed@9d272b0363 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2c81c20723703996. Report an issue: GitHub.