I cant start my agent no matter what I do

[pgm-norbert]

this is the error Im getting:
macstudio@macstudio eliza % pnpm start --character="characters/deep-thought.character.json"

eliza@ start /Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza
pnpm --filter "@elizaos/agent" start --isRoot "--character=characters/deep-thought.character.json"

@elizaos/[email protected] start /Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/agent
node --loader ts-node/esm src/index.ts "--isRoot" "--character=characters/deep-thought.character.json"

(node:85007) ExperimentalWarning: --experimental-loader may be removed in the future; instead use register():
--import 'data:text/javascript,import { register } from "node:module"; import { pathToFileURL } from "node:url"; register("ts-node/esm", pathToFileURL("./"));'
(Use node --trace-warnings ... to show where the warning was created)
(node:85007) [DEP0180] DeprecationWarning: fs.Stats constructor is deprecated.
(Use node --trace-deprecation ... to show where the warning was created)

node:internal/modules/run_main:122
triggerUncaughtException(
^
Error: Cannot find module '/Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/agent/node_modules/@elizaos/adapter-sqlite/dist/index.js' imported from /Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/agent/src/index.ts
at finalizeResolution (/Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/node_modules/ts-node/dist-raw/node-internal-modules-esm-resolve.js:352:11)
at moduleResolve (/Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/node_modules/ts-node/dist-raw/node-internal-modules-esm-resolve.js:801:10)
at Object.defaultResolve (/Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/node_modules/ts-node/dist-raw/node-internal-modules-esm-resolve.js:912:11)
at /Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/node_modules/ts-node/src/esm.ts:218:35
at entrypointFallback (/Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/node_modules/ts-node/src/esm.ts:168:34)
at /Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/node_modules/ts-node/src/esm.ts:217:14
at addShortCircuitFlag (/Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/node_modules/ts-node/src/esm.ts:409:21)
at resolve (/Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/node_modules/ts-node/src/esm.ts:197:12)
at nextResolve (node:internal/modules/esm/hooks:748:28)
at Hooks.resolve (node:internal/modules/esm/hooks:240:30)

Node.js v23.3.0
/Users/macstudio/Downloads/eliza/agent:
 ERR_PNPM_RECURSIVE_RUN_FIRST_FAIL  @elizaos/[email protected] start: node --loader ts-node/esm src/index.ts "--isRoot" "--character=characters/deep-thought.character.json"
Exit status 1
 ELIFECYCLE  Command failed with exit code 1.

Summary of Fixes Attempted (Still Not Working)

You've tried multiple steps to fix the missing module errors and get your project running, but it's still failing. Here's a brief summary of what we've attempted so far:

1. Checked & Installed Missing Packages:

   • Verified and manually installed missing dependencies like:
     • @elizaos/adapter-pglite
     • @elizaos/client-auto
     • @elizaos/client-instagram
     • @elizaos/client-lens
     • ts-node
   • Used:

     pnpm list <package-name>
     pnpm add <package-name>

2. Checked for Missing dist/ Folders in Packages:

   • Found that many dist/ directories were missing.
   • Attempted a full rebuild of all packages:

     pnpm --recursive run build

3. Fully Cleaned & Reinstalled Dependencies:

   • Removed all node_modules, lock files, and built assets:

     rm -rf node_modules pnpm-lock.yaml dist
     pnpm install --recursive

4. Checked and Updated Package Configurations:

   • Verified that package.json files pointed to the correct build output ("main": "dist/index.js")
   • Ensured all local dependencies were properly linked using:

     pnpm link --global

5. Rebuilt Individual Packages That Were Still Missing dist/:

   • Manually rebuilt missing packages:

     cd packages/<package-name>
     pnpm build
     ls -l dist

6. Verified ts-node Installation:

   • Installed ts-node globally and in the monorepo.
   • Checked if it was available:

     pnpm exec ts-node --version

7. Attempted to Run the Project Again:

   • After each attempt, ran:

     pnpm start --character="characters/deep-thought.character.json"

   • Each time, a new module was missing, indicating either:
     • Incomplete dependency installation
     • Issues with local package linking
     • Build processes not running correctly

Any ideas?

[patrickjsimons]

Make sure you initially checkout a suitable version from the main branch i.e. don't checkout a branch like 'develop'
git clone https://github.com/elizaOS/eliza.git
cd eliza
git checkout $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)

After switching between branches it's best to clean the project and install all the related dependencies that are listed in package.json
pnpm clean
pnpm install --no-frozen-lockfile

Build and start the project:
pnpm build
pnpm start --character="yourCharacter.json"

PS - the official documentation is a great reference point!

[pgm-norbert]

Thank you for getting back to me, I followed the recommended steps:

Cloned the repository and checked out the latest tagged version.
Cleaned the project and installed dependencies using pnpm install --no-frozen-lockfile.
Ran pnpm build, ensuring all packages were built before starting.
Despite this, running pnpm start still results in a missing module error:
Cannot find module '@elizaos/adapter-pglite/dist/index.js'.

It seems like some dependencies aren’t being built correctly. dist/ is missing from multiple packages even after pnpm build. Is there an additional step needed to ensure all dependencies are properly compiled and linked? Any insights would be appreciated!

[patrickjsimons]

Can you confirm that you are switching to the correct node version using the node version manager nvm?

E.g. nvm use 23.3.0 Note that this may not be your default and would need to be run each time you open the terminal

There are a lot of things that can go wrong especially when the environment is not setup correctly. Look under the packages folder to confirm that packages/adaptor-pglite/src/index.ts actually exists. If not, navigate to git hub and check that it is in the branch you checked out

run git branch to see what branches were installed and which one is marked with an * - Make sure you are on main branch

The logs are very good so for each step like pnpm install scroll back up to make sure there are no errors or warnings that might effect the installation and configuration

[pgm-norbert]

Yes—I can confirm that I'm switching to the correct Node version using nvm (I ran nvm use 23.3.0) and I'm on the main branch with the expected files (e.g. packages/adaptor-pglite/src/index.ts exists). I also reviewed the pnpm install logs and found no issues there.

However, I'm still getting a TypeScript error during the client build in src/components/chat.tsx at line 182. The error:

Type 'Element' is not assignable to type 'ReactNode'. Property 'children' is missing in type 'ReactElement<any, any>' but required in type 'ReactPortal'.

suggests that the callback passed to transitions is returning a React element that isn’t matching the expected type—specifically, it’s missing the children property that the type ReactPortal requires.