Invalid prettier configuration file detected #15167

mxz7 · 2023-07-28T13:02:22Z

mxz7
Jul 28, 2023

I'm properly baffled. it used to work a few weeks ago

kachkaev · 2023-07-28T16:55:40Z

kachkaev
Jul 28, 2023
Maintainer

Hi @Tekoh! It’s hard to help because it’s not clear what version of Prettier you are using, what is you module attribute in package.json and what’s the name of the config file.

If you use Prettier v3, you ca try removing require wrapper calls and see if it helps. See https://prettier.io/docs/en/configuration.html for more info

3 replies

mxz7 Jul 28, 2023
Author

prettier v2.8.8

there is no module attribute in my package.json but type is set to module

config file is .prettierrc.cjs

thomo Aug 5, 2023

Same issue here:

VSCode project running in a devcontainer
prettier version 3.0.0

config .prettierrc.cjs

const config = {
    plugins: [require("prettier-plugin-tailwindcss")],
}

module.exports = config;

no prettier section in package.json

At start all looks ok - but when I open a file and execute "Format file" the error occurs:

Log Output:

["INFO" - 9:07:19 AM] Extension Name: esbenp.prettier-vscode.
["INFO" - 9:07:19 AM] Extension Version: 10.1.0.
["DEBUG" - 9:07:19 AM] Enabling Prettier globally
{
  "languageSelector": [
    {
      "language": "javascript"
    },
    {
      "language": "mongo"
    },
    {
      "language": "javascriptreact"
    },
    {
      "language": "typescript"
    },
    {
      "language": "typescriptreact"
    },
    {
      "language": "json"
    },
    {
      "language": "jsonc"
    },
    {
      "language": "json5"
    },
    {
      "language": "css"
    },
    {
      "language": "postcss"
    },
    {
      "language": "less"
    },
    {
      "language": "scss"
    },
    {
      "language": "handlebars"
    },
    {
      "language": "graphql"
    },
    {
      "language": "markdown"
    },
    {
      "language": "mdx"
    },
    {
      "language": "html"
    },
    {
      "language": "vue"
    },
    {
      "language": "yaml"
    },
    {
      "language": "ansible"
    },
    {
      "language": "home-assistant"
    },
    {
      "language": "jsonc",
      "scheme": "vscode-userdata"
    }
  ],
  "rangeLanguageSelector": [
    {
      "language": "javascript"
    },
    {
      "language": "javascriptreact"
    },
    {
      "language": "typescript"
    },
    {
      "language": "typescriptreact"
    },
    {
      "language": "json"
    },
    {
      "language": "jsonc"
    },
    {
      "language": "graphql"
    }
  ]
}
["DEBUG" - 9:07:34 AM] Local prettier module path: '/workspaces/logbook-ui/node_modules/prettier/index.cjs'
["DEBUG" - 9:07:34 AM] Using prettier version 3.0.0
["ERROR" - 9:07:34 AM] Invalid prettier configuration file detected.
{}
["ERROR" - 9:07:34 AM] Invalid prettier configuration file detected. See log for details.
["DEBUG" - 9:07:34 AM] Enabling Prettier for Workspace /workspaces/logbook-ui
{
  "languageSelector": [
    {
      "pattern": "/workspaces/logbook-ui/**/*.{js,_js,bones,cjs,es,es6,frag,gs,jake,javascript,jsb,jscad,jsfl,jslib,jsm,jspre,jss,mjs,njs,pac,sjs,ssjs,xsjs,xsjslib,wxs,js.flow,jsx,ts,cts,mts,tsx,importmap,json,4DForm,4DProject,avsc,geojson,gltf,har,ice,JSON-tmLanguage,mcmeta,tfstate,tfstate.backup,topojson,webapp,webmanifest,yy,yyp,jsonc,code-snippets,sublime-build,sublime-commands,sublime-completions,sublime-keymap,sublime-macro,sublime-menu,sublime-mousemap,sublime-project,sublime-settings,sublime-theme,sublime-workspace,sublime_metrics,sublime_session,json5,css,wxss,pcss,postcss,less,scss,handlebars,hbs,graphql,gql,graphqls,md,livemd,markdown,mdown,mdwn,mkd,mkdn,mkdown,ronn,scd,workbook,mdx,component.html,html,hta,htm,html.hl,inc,xht,xhtml,mjml,vue,yml,mir,reek,rviz,sublime-syntax,syntax,yaml,yaml-tmlanguage,yaml.sed,yml.mysql}",
      "scheme": "file"
    },
    {
      "language": "javascript"
    },
    {
      "language": "mongo"
    },
    {
      "language": "javascriptreact"
    },
    {
      "language": "typescript"
    },
    {
      "language": "typescriptreact"
    },
    {
      "language": "json"
    },
    {
      "language": "jsonc"
    },
    {
      "language": "json5"
    },
    {
      "language": "css"
    },
    {
      "language": "postcss"
    },
    {
      "language": "less"
    },
    {
      "language": "scss"
    },
    {
      "language": "handlebars"
    },
    {
      "language": "graphql"
    },
    {
      "language": "markdown"
    },
    {
      "language": "mdx"
    },
    {
      "language": "html"
    },
    {
      "language": "vue"
    },
    {
      "language": "yaml"
    },
    {
      "language": "ansible"
    },
    {
      "language": "home-assistant"
    },
    {
      "language": "jsonc",
      "scheme": "vscode-userdata"
    }
  ],
  "rangeLanguageSelector": [
    {
      "language": "javascript"
    },
    {
      "language": "javascriptreact"
    },
    {
      "language": "typescript"
    },
    {
      "language": "typescriptreact"
    },
    {
      "language": "json"
    },
    {
      "language": "jsonc"
    },
    {
      "language": "graphql"
    }
  ]
}
["INFO" - 9:07:43 AM] Formatting file:///workspaces/logbook-ui/src/App.tsx
["DEBUG" - 9:07:43 AM] Local prettier module path: '/workspaces/logbook-ui/node_modules/prettier/index.cjs'
["DEBUG" - 9:07:43 AM] Using prettier version 3.0.0
["ERROR" - 9:07:43 AM] Invalid prettier configuration file detected.
{}
["ERROR" - 9:07:43 AM] Invalid prettier configuration file detected. See log for details.

SapphoSys Aug 17, 2023

@kachkaev Hi there! I ran into the same issue.

This is the error I'm experiencing:

["INFO" - 3:13:51 PM] Formatting file:///home/chloe/projects/site/prettier.config.mjs
["ERROR" - 3:13:51 PM] Invalid prettier configuration file detected.
{}
["ERROR" - 3:13:51 PM] Invalid prettier configuration file detected. See log for details.

Here's my Prettier configuration file:
prettier.config.mjs

/** @type import('prettier').Config */
export default {
  plugins: [
    "prettier-plugin-astro",
    "prettier-plugin-tailwindcss",
  ],
  proseWrap: "always",
  overrides: [
    {
      files: "*.astro",
      options: { parser: "astro" },
    },
  ],
};

Specifications:
OS: Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS under WSL2 (Windows 11)
Prettier version:

$ yarn prettier -v
3.0.2

Prettier plugin versions:
package.json

"prettier-plugin-astro": "^0.11.1",
"prettier-plugin-tailwindcss": "^0.5.3"

electrovir · 2024-07-21T12:41:16Z

electrovir
Jul 21, 2024

This happens to me when I switch from prettier.config.cjs to prettier.config.mjs. It seems that switching to .mjs triggers Prettier to enter some kind of ESM mode which then makes it incapable of formatting CommonJS .js files: they must all be renamed to .cjs.

0 replies

ethanwu10 · 2024-07-31T01:09:52Z

ethanwu10
Jul 31, 2024

The problem seems to be that in the VSCode extension, module objects can't be passed through the RPC boundary between the main extension and the worker process where config is actually read. For the VSCode extension to work, the Prettier config must be effectively plain old data (specifically, the HTML structured clone algorithm) due to restrictions in worker_threads from the way the VSCode extension is implemented.

I ran into this while trying to get a plugin to load under PNP, and it seems like there is no way to make the VSCode extension work. Doing the import in the config doesn't work because of this issue. Meanwhile, only resolving the import in the config (via import.meta.resolve) also doesn't work since the VSCode main thread then tries to resolve it again using require.resolve: import.meta.resolve gives a URI to a ESM file, which the CJS require machinery seems to reject.

0 replies

trevorr · 2024-08-18T23:02:27Z

trevorr
Aug 18, 2024

I ran into this as well and "fixed" it by switching to a JSON configuration.

0 replies

Relequestual · 2025-06-13T09:00:14Z

Relequestual
Jun 13, 2025

I had this issue in VSCode. I eventually solved it. Here are some learnings.

If you use Prettier v3, you ca try removing require wrapper calls and see if it helps

It did help.

The Prettier config file you used was valid.
The Prettier VS Code extension can sometimes cache errors or not pick up config changes until you reload the window (Developer: Reload Window).
"Format on Save" must be enabled in VS Code settings for automatic formatting to work.
Using "Format Document" from the command palette can help test if Prettier is working, even if "Format on Save" is off.
After changing Prettier config files, always reload the VS Code window to ensure the extension picks up the changes.

Hopefully this helps others. It can be so frustrating to get no answers and run out of things to try.

0 replies

Uh oh!

Invalid prettier configuration file detected #15167

Uh oh!

mxz7 Jul 28, 2023

Replies: 5 comments · 3 replies

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

kachkaev Jul 28, 2023 Maintainer

Uh oh!

mxz7 Jul 28, 2023 Author

Uh oh!

thomo Aug 5, 2023

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

SapphoSys Aug 17, 2023

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

electrovir Jul 21, 2024

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

ethanwu10 Jul 31, 2024

Uh oh!

trevorr Aug 18, 2024

Uh oh!

Relequestual Jun 13, 2025

mxz7
Jul 28, 2023

Replies: 5 comments 3 replies

kachkaev
Jul 28, 2023
Maintainer

mxz7 Jul 28, 2023
Author

electrovir
Jul 21, 2024

ethanwu10
Jul 31, 2024

trevorr
Aug 18, 2024

Relequestual
Jun 13, 2025