Error cannot find module node path

When you are working in Node, you will sometimes encounter the error Cannot find module 'module-name' with the error code MODULE_NOT_FOUND.

The error looks like this:

	internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:796
    throw err;
    ^

Error: Cannot find module 'module'
    at Function.Module._resolveFilename (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:793:17)
    at Function.Module._load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:686:27)
    at Function.Module.runMain (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1043:10)
    at internal/main/run_main_module.js:17:11 {
        code: 'MODULE_NOT_FOUND',
        requireStack: []
    }

In this post, we’ll learn how to resolve this error.

What is the problem?

The issue is that Node is unable to find the module that you are trying to import into your Node application.

The most common reason for this is that you simply haven’t installed the project’s dependencies yet.

The project’s dependencies are listed in the package.json file at the root of the project.

The Solution

To fix the Cannot find module error, simply install the missing modules using npm.

To so, you can use the following command:

	npm install

If you are using the yarn package manager, you can use the following command:

	yarn install

This will install the project’s dependencies into your project so that you can use them.

Sometimes, this might still not resolve it for you. In this case, you’ll want to just delete your node_modules folder and lock file (package-lock.json or yarn.lock) and try again.

This is how you can delete the node_modules folder and lock files:

	rm -rf node_modules

rm package-lock.json
rm yarn.lock

Local files

If your module is not coming from a remote source, you are seeing the error because the path to the local file is not correct.

Try to confirm that the path pointing to the local module is correct and your error should be resolved.

Conclusion

The Cannot find module error is a common error that usually happens when dependencies are not installed. Once you install your dependencies and ensure that the paths are correct, you can resolve the error and run your application successfully.

Hopefully, this resolved the issue for you.

Thanks for reading!

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✋ Update: This post was originally published on my blog decodingweb.dev, where you can read the latest version for a 💯 user experience. ~reza

“Error: cannot find module” occurs when you try to load a non-existant module in Node – Either via ESM (ECMAScript Modules) or CommonJS module systems.

The error usually looks like this in the console:

node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:936
  throw err;
  ^

Error: Cannot find module '/var/www/scripts/app.js'

Why does «Error: cannot find module» occur?

The error «cannot find module» might happen if you’re trying to:

• Import a third-party package you haven’t installed yet (with npm or yarn).
• Import a local module, but the path is wrong.
• Run a node script in the terminal, but the script doesn’t exist (or path is wrong).
• Use node standard libraries with TypeScript, but you haven’t installed the @types/node package.
• The module’s package.json has a main field pointing to an entry file that doesn’t exist.

Before anything, let’s review what a module is and how module systems work in a high level (Or jump to the solutions).

The module system: Modules are the building blocks of an application. Node implements ESM and CommonJS (the default one) module systems to let you organize your code as reusable components.

With modules, you can only expose the public interface of your components and keep the internal functionalities private. This is done by using a module.exports (CommonJS modules) or export (ES Modules).

The following code is an example of a module, which has a function to determine whether a number is odd or not:

// math.js

function isOdd(number) {
return number % 2 !== 0
}

// Make isOdd available to other scripts (and other modules)
module.exports = isOdd

And here’s how we import it into another script called index.js:

// index.js 
const add = require('./isodd.js') 

console.log(isOdd(3)) 
// output: true

All the modules you use have an ESM or CommonJS export declaration.

How do module systems find modules?

If the identifier passed to require() or import() is a reference to a file (it starts with /, ../, ./, etc.) in your filesystem, Node will load it from the respective path. Otherwise, it looks it up in the installed modules — inside the node_modules directory.

If the module isn’t found, it raises the «Cannot find module» error.

How to fix the «Cannot find module» error in Node.js?

There are several scenarios this error can happen; Let’s explore each.

Third-party packages: If you try to import a third-party module and get this error (and you’re sure the spelling is correct), you probably haven’t installed the package yet.

Imagine this is the code:

//index.js

const axios = require('axios');

// Make an HTTP request with Axios

If I run this on my machine, I’ll get the «Cannot find module» error.

And that’s because I haven’t installed it yet. So in my project directory (where my package.json resides), I’d have to install axios package with npm or yarn like so:

npm install axios

Local modules: Imagine you have a set of utility functions kept in a JavaScript file named utils.js. You want to import a function called getUrl() from this utils.js into your script:

// index.js

const { getUrl } = require('utils')

// Do something here ...

But when you run npm run build, the build fails:

ERROR in ./app/index.js 30:0-30
Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'utils' in '/var/www/app'

In this case, since utils isn’t a reference to a local file, my bundler (Webpack) assumes it’s inside a node_modules directory. The build fails as the utils module isn’t an installed package.

So what I need to do here is to make it an absolute path by adding ./ to my identifier:

// index.js

const { getUrl } = require('./utils.js')

// Do something here ...

Problem solved.

Sometimes the error occurs because the letter casing is off. File names on Mac and Windows are case-insensitive by default; This means ./Utils and ./utils both work on Mac and Windows (where you develop the app). However, it’ll break on a Linux file system where filenames are case-sensitive.

Running a node script: Another scenario reported by developers is when you run a script with the node command. However, the respective file can’t be located — probably owing to a typo in the name or path.

So always double-check that the path is correct and the script exists. You can always take advantage of the terminal’s autocomplete feature by typing the initial letters and pressing the tab to let it complete the path for you.

node ./scriptName.js

Node and TypeScript: If you’re coding in TypeScript and you’re importing a built-in Node module like fs, you might get a «Cannot find module ‘fs'» error too.

You can fix the issue by installing @types/node:

npm install @types/node --save-dev

Even though all packages in node_modules/@types (of any enclosing folder) are included in your compilation. However, it’s worth ensuring node is added under compileOptions.types:

tsconfig.json

{
  compilerOptions: {
    types: [node, jest, express]
  }
}

Missing entry file in package.json: Each module has an entry file named index.js(by default) unless it’s changed in the module’s package.json via the main field.

{
  name: utils
}

If you decide to change the main field to another entry file (e.g., main.js), you must ensure the file exists. Or if you rename or relocate that file in the future, remember to update the package.json too.

Missing entry file in package.json has been reported by several users on Stackoverflow.

Importing a module from the global node_modules or a separate directory: Sometimes you might have to use a globally-installed package in your development environment.

If you try to load a globally-installed module in your project, you might get the «Cannot find module» error.

A workaround to this problem is using the npm link command. If the package is installed globally, all you need to do is run the following command while in your project directory:

npm link package-name

As a result, npm will create a symbolic link from the globally installed package name to the node_modules directory of your project — as if you’ve installed it with npm install package-name.

If the module you want to use is a local file residing somewhere in your file system other than the global node_modules (e.g., a module you’re developing), you’ll have to do it in a two-step process:

First step: In the terminal, you need to change the directory to where the module resides and run the npm link (without any parameter). As a result, a symlink is created in the global node_modules that links to your local package.

npm link

Second step: After that, you change the directory to your project directory (where you want to import the module) and run the following command:

npm link package-name

This will create a symbolic link from the globally installed package name to the node_modules directory of your project.

Now, you can use the package as if it’s an installed third-party package.

What if the problem persists?

If none of the above solutions worked for you, maybe you’re dealing with corrupted or incomplete installations. In that case, you can take the following steps:

Delete node_module directory:

rm -rf node_modules

Delete package-lock.json:

rm -f package-lock.json

Clear the npm cache:

npm cache clean --force

Install the packages again:

npm install

This will make a clean install of all the dependencies listed in your package.json file.

I hope these solutions help you fix your code.

Thanks for reading.

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Introduction

If you are trying to run your Node.js application and you get something
like this:

Error: Cannot find module 'C:UsersMemy_app.js'

then you are most likely trying to run the wrong file. It is possible
you are missing a dependency that is needed from npm install,
but if it says it cannot
find the main file you are trying to run, then you are
trying to run a file that does not exist. It is a common mistake.

How to fix «Error: Cannot find module»

You need to double check you are running the correct file from the
correct directory. Here are some steps to diagnose.

General tips

Here are some general things to keep in mind when diagnosing the issue:

• Make sure you are in the correct directory.
• Make sure you are trying to run the correct file name.
• File and directory names are case sensitive.

How to change directories

To change directories, use the cd command in your terminal.
For example, if your username was Me on the computer:

# In Windows
cd C:UsersMemy_project_directory

# In Mac OS
cd /Users/Me/my_project_directory/

# In Linux
cd /home/Me/my_project_directory/

How to see what directory you are in

To check what directory you are currently in, use the folowing in your terminal.

# In Linux/Mac
pwd

# In Windows
echo %cd%

How to print the contents of current directory

To see what files and directories exist in your current directory
use the following in your terminal:

# In Windows
dir

# In Linux/Mac
ls

Conclusion

After reading this you should have some idea why you get
the error Error: Cannot find module and how to diagnose and
fix the problem.

In this tutorial, we are going to learn about how to resolve can’t find a module error in Node.js.

If you are not installed a module properly using npm install command and trying to use it in your project by using require() function you will see this following error inside the terminal.

internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:796
    throw err;
    ^

Error: Cannot find module '/Users/saigowtham/Desktop/sss/run'
    at Function.Module._resolveFilename (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:793:17)
    at Function.Module._load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:686:27)
    at Function.Module.runMain (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1043:10)
    at internal/main/run_main_module.js:17:11 {
  code: 'MODULE_NOT_FOUND',
  requireStack: []
}

To fix Cannot find module errors, install the modules properly by running a npm install command in the appropriate directory as your project’s app.js or index.js file.

Here is an example:

# npm install your-module-name

npm install express

or delete the node_modules folder and package-lock.json file and re-install it again using the npm install command.

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json

Can’t find modules in local files

If you are trying to import one local file inside another and passed a wrong path to the require() function you will see this error again.

To fix this error, pass a correct module path to the require() function.

Why we get “error: cannot find module express”?

Express is a web framework built on Node.js, and one that allows developers to build minimal and scalable web and mobile applications. It provides features from top performance, API designs, and extensive frameworks built on it.

For us to run Express, we need to the Node Package Manager, popularly known as npm. However, when we run certain node applications or express codebase, we might experience the error message below

Error: Cannot find module 'express'

This error is quite common and exists because when your code ran, the express package or module wasn’t found within its environment. In this article, we will discuss the ways you could solve this error.

Solution-1: Using npm

To do anything within Node, the npm is your gateway to perform a lot of operations, and to solve this error, you will need it.

Normal Install

Unless you haven’t installed the express module, you can run the following node command

npm install express

However, if you still run the code and it gives the same issue, you can try a global installation of the express module as you might be running your Node.js code from a global environment within your OS.

ALSO READ: Using try catch finally in Node.js [Best Practices]

Global Install

To perform global install of a node module or package, you need the -g flag. This works by place the path for the express module within the system path. With these, you can install the express module globally and be able to access it without raising a not found error message.

npm install -g express

Output:

added 57 packages, and audited 58 packages in 3s

7 packages are looking for funding
  run `npm fund` for details

found 0 vulnerabilities

Solution-2: Check your package.json file

To solve Error: Cannot find module 'express' error message, you can if the express library is within your node_modules which is available via the package.json file.

A simple search within the package.json can help, and you should the following within the package.json file.

"node_modules/express": {
      "version": "4.18.1",
      "resolved": "<https://registry.npmjs.org/express/-/express-4.18.1.tgz>",
      "integrity": "sha512-zZBcOX9TfehHQhtupq57OF8lFZ3UZi08Y97dwFCkD8p9d/d2Y3M+ykKcwaMDEL+4qyUolgBDX6AblpR3fL212Q==",
...

If the above is not present, you need to either do the normal or global install as stated in the previous section.

Solution-3: Set NODE_PATH for your node_modules

If express module is present within the package.json file and you have tried the normal and global installation, and still experience the same issues, there is another option.

This option involves setting the NODE_PATH for your node_modules. To carry out this operation, you need to install or update express.

npm install express

Afterwards, you set and link the node path to the place of your node_modules. For Linux environments, the following command works.

set NODE_PATH=your\directory\to\node_modules;%NODE_PATH%

For Windows environments, the following command works

setx NODE_PATH=%AppData%\npm\node_modules

Summary

When working within node.js and express, we might face Error: Cannot find module 'express' error message. There are different reasons for this error message to be thrown at us and understanding the context matters.

If you have not installed express, you might experience this and if the node_modules is not set within your OS environment variables, you might experience it too. Therefore, if you try any of the options above, you will be able to deal with the Error: Cannot find module 'express' error message.

ALSO READ: How is Nodejs single threaded? The Truth Revealed!

Further Reading

Installing Express (expressjs.com)
setx | Microsoft Learn
Node.js Error: Cannot find module express

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