How To Fix react-scripts: command not found Error

Introduction

If you’re a web developer who uses React, you may have at some point run into the annoying “react-scripts: command not found” issue. When using npm start or yarn start to launch your React application, this error may appear. You’re not alone, so don’t worry! Many developers frequently see this mistake, but fortunately, there are several simple fixes available. This article will examine the potential causes of this problem and offer detailed instructions for fixing it.

Understanding the “react-scripts: command not found” error

Use create-react-app to automatically configure your development environment with react-scripts when starting a React project. Scripts that enable commands like npm start, npm build, and others are included in this package. But occasionally these scripts can stop working, resulting in the “react-scripts: command not found” message.

Reinstalling node_modules

To reinstall the node_modules, open your terminal and run the following commands:

npm install

Or, if you’re using yarn:

yarn install

This will fetch and install all the necessary dependencies for your React project, including react-scripts.

Updating npm or yarn

Outdated package managers can also cause issues with script accessibility. It’s a good practice to keep npm and yarn updated to their latest versions. To update npm, run:

npm install -g npm

To update yarn, run:

npm install -g yarn

Verifying the package.json file

Another common reason for the error is an improperly configured package.json file. Ensure that your package.json includes the following scripts section:

"scripts": {
  "start": "react-scripts start",
  "build": "react-scripts build",
  "test": "react-scripts test",
  "eject": "react-scripts eject"
}

Clearing cache and reinstalling packages

Caching issues might be preventing you from accessing react-scripts. Clear the npm or yarn cache and reinstall the packages by running the following commands:

For npm:

npm cache clean --force
npm install

For yarn:

yarn cache clean
yarn install

Checking your PATH environment variable

The PATH environment variable allows your system to locate installed packages globally. Ensure that your PATH includes the correct path to your npm or yarn global packages. If not, update the PATH variable accordingly.

Troubleshooting with npm init

Running npm init can sometimes reset configurations and help fix the error. Navigate to your project's root folder and run:

npm init

Trying an alternative script runner

If all else fails, you can try an alternative script runner to start your React application. One such option is react-scripts-without-cra, which is a lightweight alternative to create-react-app. Install it using the following command:

npx create-react-app@4.0.3 my-app --scripts-version=react-scripts-without-cra

Replace "my-app" with your project's name.