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triggerdotdev--trigger.dev/.changeset/cli-dev-without-project.md
T
Eric Allam 3d5cffc255 fix(cli): point to init when dev or update runs without a project (#3929)
## Summary

Running `trigger.dev dev` before setting up a project crashed with a raw
`Cannot find matching package.json` stack trace from a transitive
dependency, instead of telling the user what to do next. It happens
whenever `dev` (or `update`) runs in a directory with no `package.json`
in it or any parent directory, for example right after creating an empty
project folder, or when `init` was exited before it scaffolded anything.

The CLI now detects the missing project and prints actionable guidance
pointing at `init`.

## Fix

`dev` runs an embedded package-version check before it loads any project
config. That check resolved `package.json` through a helper that throws
when nothing is found up the tree, and nothing caught it. It is now
wrapped, so a missing `package.json` produces a clear "run init" message
and a clean exit.

The config loader had the same latent crash on the `--skip-update-check`
path. Its resolvers for `package.json`, the lockfile, and the workspace
root all ran before the friendly "couldn't find your trigger.config.ts"
check, so any of them throwing masked it. That check now runs first and
short-circuits before the resolvers touch the filesystem.

Verified live: in an empty directory, `dev`, `dev --skip-update-check`,
and `update` all print a "run init" message and exit cleanly; in a
configured project, `dev` still resolves config and boots normally.
2026-06-12 16:26:13 +00:00

302 B

trigger.dev
trigger.dev
patch

Running a CLI command like dev, deploy, preview, or update before initializing a project no longer crashes with a raw Cannot find matching package.json stack trace. The CLI now detects the missing project and points you to npx trigger.dev@latest init instead.