Module not found: Can't resolve 'path', zlib, buffer, http

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Borislav Hadzhiev

Last updated: Mar 7, 2024
13 min

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# Table of Contents

  1. Module not found: Can't resolve 'path'
  2. Module not found: Can't resolve 'zlib'
  3. Module not found: Can't resolve 'buffer'
  4. Module not found: Can't resolve 'http'

# Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'path'

The error "Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'path'" occurs because there has been a breaking change in Webpack version 5.

To solve the error, set the browser.path property to false in your package.json file.

module not found error cant resolve path

shell
⛔️ Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'path' in '/home/borislav/Desktop/bobbyhadz-rest/bobbyhadz-react/node_modules/content-disposition'

BREAKING CHANGE: webpack < 5 used to include polyfills for node.js core modules by default.
This is no longer the case. Verify if you need this module and configure a polyfill for it.

If you want to include a polyfill, you need to:
    - add a fallback 'resolve.fallback: { "path": require.resolve("path-browserify") }'
    - install 'path-browserify'
If you don't want to include a polyfill, you can use an empty module like this:
    resolve.fallback: { "path": false }

The first thing you should try is to set the browser.path property to false in your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ add this to package.json 👇️
  "browser": {
    "path": false,
    "stream": false
  }
}
Add the browser object to your package.json file as shown in the code sample.

Path is a Node.js core module and should most likely not be bundled with your client-side code.

By setting path to false, we use an empty module instead of including a polyfill for the path module.

If the error persists, try to run the following 2 commands.

shell
# with NPM
npm install path
npm install stream

# with YARN
yarn add path
yarn add stream
If your error is resolved, you don't have to do anything else.

If the error persists, you have to edit your webpack.config.js file:

  1. Make sure you have path-browserify installed.
shell
npm install path-browserify
npm install stream-browserify

yarn add path-browserify
yarn add stream-browserify
  1. Open your webpack.config.js and add a fallback to your resolve.fallback property.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = function (webpackEnv) {
  // ...
  return {
   // ...
    resolve: {
      // ...
      fallback: {
        // 👇️👇️👇️ add this 👇️👇️👇️
        path: require.resolve("path-browserify"),
        stream: require.resolve("stream-browserify"),
      }
    }
  }
}
You can try to CTRL + F for resolve: if your webpack.config.js file is cluttered and long.

Note that if you include a polyfill, you should remove the browser.path property from your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ REMOVE this from package.json
  "browser": {
    "path": false,
    "stream": false
  }
}

If you use "Create React App", you might have to edit your node_modules/react-scripts/config/webpack.config.json file.

Alternatively, you can run the npm run eject command, but it is a one-way operation.

Once you run the command, you can't go back.

The command removes the single-build dependency from your project and copies the configuration files into your project as dependencies in package.json.

shell
npm run eject

Once you run the npm run eject command, a config directory is created.

The config directory contains a webpack.config.js file that you should edit.

Open your config/webpack.config.js file and add a fallback to your resolve.fallback property.

webpack.config.js
module.exports = function (webpackEnv) {
  // ...
  return {
   // ...
    resolve: {
      // ...
      fallback: {
        // 👇️👇️👇️ add this 👇️👇️👇️
        path: require.resolve("path-browserify"),
        stream: require.resolve("stream-browserify"),
      }
    }
  }
}

Note that if you include a polyfill, you should remove the browser.path property from your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ REMOVE this from package.json
  "browser": {
    "path": false,
    "stream": false
  }
}

If the error is not resolved and you use Next.js, you might be trying to use the path module in code that is run on the browser.

# Module not found: Can't resolve 'path' in Next.js

If you use the Node.js built-in path module in your Next.js application, you have to be sure to only use it on the server.

You can use path in your getStaticProps and getServerSideProps.

If you use the Node.js (server-side) path module outside of the getStaticProps, getStaticPaths and getServerSideProps methods, the error occurs.

example.js
import {join} from 'path';


// ⛔️ CAN'T use path here ⛔️

export const getServerSideProps = async () => {
  // ✅ Can use path here (runs only on the server)
  console.log(join);

  return {
    props: {}, // will be passed to the page component as props
  }
};

If you use the path module in your code, remove the browser.path property from your package.json file if you've set it to false.

If you don't use the path module in your code, create a next.config.js file in your project's root directory (next to your package.json file) and add the following code.

next.config.js
// 👇️ assumes you use Webpack 5
module.exports = {
  webpack5: true,
  webpack: config => {
    config.resolve.fallback = {
      path: false,
    };

    return config;
  },
};

If you have an existing next.config.js file and still use Webpack version 4, edit your config to look as follows.

next.config.js
// 👇️ assumes you use Webpack 4
module.exports = {
  webpack: (config, {isServer}) => {
    if (!isServer) {
      config.node = {
        path: 'empty',
      };
    }

    return config;
  },
};

If you get an error such as "Module not found: Can't resolve 'zlib'" or "Module not found: Can't resolve 'buffer'", you would have to add a zlib or a buffer property to your config object just like we did for the path property.

# Module not found: Can't resolve 'zlib' error

The error "Module not found: Can't resolve 'zlib'" most commonly occurs when you import a Node.js-specific function in your frontend (e.g. React.js) application.

To solve the error, make sure to ignore or remove all Node.js imports from your frontend code.

module not found error cant resolve zlib

shell
Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'zlib' in '/home/borislav/Desktop/bobbyhadz-rest/bobbyhadz-react/node_modules/body-parser/lib'

BREAKING CHANGE: webpack < 5 used to include polyfills for node.js core modules by default.
This is no longer the case. Verify if you need this module and configure a polyfill for it.

If you want to include a polyfill, you need to:
    - add a fallback 'resolve.fallback: { "zlib": require.resolve("browserify-zlib") }'
    - install 'browserify-zlib'
If you don't want to include a polyfill, you can use an empty module like this:
    resolve.fallback: { "zlib": false }
The error is most commonly caused due to having an Express.js (Node) import your frontend (e.g. React.js) code.

The following imports are the most common cause of the error.

App.js
import { response } from 'express';
import { json } from 'express';
import e from 'express';

You can press CTRL + F and search for express imports in your frontend code (e.g. React.js codebase).

Once you remove these imports the error will be resolved.

The cause of having such an import is your IDE trying to autocomplete an import incorrectly.

Then your browser tries to import Node-specific code that it can't parse and the error occurs.

If the error persists, try to set the browser.zlib property to false in your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ add this to package.json 👇️
  "browser": {
    "zlib": false,
    "stream": false
  }
}
Add the browser object to your package.json file as shown in the code sample.

Zlib is a Node.js core module and should most likely not be bundled with your client-side code.

By setting zlib and stream to false, we use an empty module instead of including a polyfill for the zlib module.

If your error is resolved, you don't have to do anything else.

If you want to include a polyfill for the zlib module and you use TypeScript:

  1. Install the following modules.
shell
# 👇️ with NPM
npm install browserify-zlib
npm install stream-browserify

# 👇️ with YARN
yarn add browserify-zlib
yarn add stream-browserify

Open your tsconfig.json file and resolve browserify-zlib and stream to the installed node_modules paths in your paths object.

tsconfig.json
{
  // ... rest
  "paths": {
    "zlib": ["node_modules/browserify-zlib"],
    "stream": ["node_modules/stream-browserify"]
  }
}

If you add the paths object in your tsconfig.json file, make sure to remove the zlib and stream properties from package.json.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ REMOVE these from package.json
  "browser": {
    "zlib": false,
    "stream": false
  }
}

If the error persists, you have to edit your webpack.config.js file:

  1. Make sure you have browserify-zlib installed.
shell
# 👇️ with NPM
npm install browserify-zlib
npm install stream-browserify

# 👇️ with YARN
yarn add browserify-zlib
yarn add stream-browserify
  1. Open your webpack.config.js and add a fallback to your resolve.fallback property.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = function (webpackEnv) {
  // ...
  return {
   // ...
    resolve: {
      // ...
      fallback: {
        // 👇️👇️👇️ add this 👇️👇️👇️
        zlib: require.resolve("browserify-zlib"),
        stream: require.resolve("stream-browserify"),
      }
    }
  }
}
You can try to CTRL + F for resolve: if your webpack.config.js file is cluttered and long.

Note that if you include a polyfill, you should remove the browser.zlib and browser.stream properties from your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ REMOVE these from package.json
  "browser": {
    "zlib": false,
    "stream": false
  }
}

If you use "Create React App", you might have to edit your node_modules/react-scripts/config/webpack.config.json file.

Alternatively, you can run the npm run eject command, but it is a one-way operation.

Once you run the command, you can't go back.

The command removes the single-build dependency from your project and copies the configuration files into your project as dependencies in package.json.

shell
npm run eject

Once you run the npm run eject command, a config directory is created.

The config directory contains a webpack.config.js file that you should edit.

Open your config/webpack.config.js file and add a fallback to your resolve.fallback property.

config/webpack.config.js
module.exports = function (webpackEnv) {
  // ...
  return {
   // ...
    resolve: {
      // ...
      fallback: {
        // 👇️👇️👇️ add this 👇️👇️👇️
        zlib: require.resolve("browserify-zlib"),
        stream: require.resolve("stream-browserify"),
      }
    }
  }
}

Note that if you include a polyfill, you should remove the browser.zlib and browser.stream properties from your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ REMOVE these from package.json
  "browser": {
    "zlib": false,
    "stream": false
  }
}

If the error is not resolved and you use Next.js, you might be trying to use the zlib module in code that is run on the browser.

# Module not found: Can't resolve 'zlib' in Next.js

If you use the Node.js built-in zlib module in your Next.js application, you have to be sure to only use it on the server.

You can use zlib in your getStaticProps and getServerSideProps.

If you use the Node.js (server-side) zlib module outside of the getStaticProps, getStaticPaths and getServerSideProps methods, the error occurs.

example.js
import zlib from 'zlib';

// ⛔️ CAN'T use zlib here ⛔️

export const getServerSideProps = async () => {
  // ✅ Can use zlib here (runs only on the server)
  console.log(zlib)

  return {
    props: {}, // will be passed to the page component as props
  }
};

If you use the zlib module in your code, remove the browser.zlib property from your package.json file if you've set it to false.

If you don't use the zlib module in your code, create a next.config.js file in your project's root directory (next to your package.json file) and add the following code.

next.config.js
// 👇️ assumes you use Webpack 5
module.exports = {
  webpack5: true,
  webpack: config => {
    config.resolve.fallback = {
      zlib: false,
    };

    return config;
  },
};

If you have an existing next.config.js file and still use Webpack version 4, edit your config to look as follows.

next.config.js
// 👇️ assumes you use Webpack 4
module.exports = {
  webpack: (config, {isServer}) => {
    if (!isServer) {
      config.node = {
        zlib: 'empty',
      };
    }

    return config;
  },
};

If you get an error such as "Module not found: Can't resolve 'path'" or "Module not found: Can't resolve 'buffer'", you would have to add a path or a buffer property to your config object just like we did for the zlib property.

# Module not found: Can't resolve 'buffer'

The error "Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'buffer'" occurs because there has been a breaking change in Webpack version 5.

To solve the error, set the browser.buffer property to false in your package.json file.

module not found error cant resolve buffer

shell
Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'buffer' in '/home/borislav/Desktop/bobbyhadz-rest/bobbyhadz-react/node_modules/safe-buffer'

BREAKING CHANGE: webpack < 5 used to include polyfills for node.js core modules by default.
This is no longer the case. Verify if you need this module and configure a polyfill for it.

If you want to include a polyfill, you need to:
    - add a fallback 'resolve.fallback: { "buffer": require.resolve("buffer/") }'
    - install 'buffer'
If you don't want to include a polyfill, you can use an empty module like this:
    resolve.fallback: { "buffer": false }

The first thing you should try is to set the browser.buffer property to false in your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ add this to package.json 👇️
  "browser": {
    "buffer": false,
  }
}
Add the browser object to your package.json file as shown in the code sample.

Buffer is a Node.js core module and should most likely not be bundled with your client-side code.

By setting buffer to false, we use an empty module instead of including a polyfill for the buffer module.

If your error is resolved, you don't have to do anything else.

If the error persists, you have to edit your webpack.config.js file:

  1. Make sure you have buffer installed.
shell
# 👇️ with NPM
npm install buffer

# 👇️ with YARN
yarn add buffer
  1. Open your webpack.config.js and add a fallback to your resolve.fallback property.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = function (webpackEnv) {
  // ...
  return {
   // ...
    resolve: {
      // ...
      fallback: {
        // 👇️👇️👇️ add this 👇️👇️👇️
        "buffer": require.resolve("buffer/"),
      }
    }
  }
}
You can try to CTRL + F for resolve: if your webpack.config.js file is cluttered and long.

Note that if you include a polyfill, you should remove the browser.buffer property from your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ REMOVE this from package.json
  "browser": {
    "buffer": false,
  }
}

If you use "Create React App", you might have to edit your node_modules/react-scripts/config/webpack.config.json file.

Alternatively, you can run the npm run eject command, but it is a one-way operation.

Once you run the command, you can't go back.

The command removes the single-build dependency from your project and copies the configuration files into your project as dependencies in package.json.

shell
npm run eject

Once you run the npm run eject command, a config directory is created.

The config directory contains a webpack.config.js file that you should edit.

Open your config/webpack.config.js file and add a fallback to your resolve.fallback property.

config/webpack.config.js
module.exports = function (webpackEnv) {
  // ...
  return {
   // ...
    resolve: {
      // ...
      fallback: {
        // 👇️👇️👇️ add this 👇️👇️👇️
        "buffer": require.resolve("buffer/"),
      }
    }
  }
}

Note that if you include a polyfill, you should remove the browser.buffer property from your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ REMOVE this from package.json
  "browser": {
    "buffer": false,
  }
}

If the error is not resolved and you use Next.js, you might be trying to use the buffer module in code that is run on the browser.

# Module not found: Can't resolve 'buffer' in Next.js

If you use the Node.js built-in buffer module in your Next.js application, you have to be sure to only use it on the server.

You can use buffer in your getStaticProps and getServerSideProps.

If you use the Node.js (server-side) buffer module outside of the getStaticProps, getStaticPaths and getServerSideProps methods, the error occurs.

example.js
import {Buffer} from 'buffer';

// ⛔️ CAN'T use buffer here ⛔️

export const getServerSideProps = async () => {
  // ✅ Can use buffer here (runs only on the server)
  console.log(Buffer);

  return {
    props: {}, // will be passed to the page component as props
  }
};

If you use the buffer module in your code, remove the browser.buffer property from your package.json file if you've set it to false.

If you don't use the buffer module in your code, create a next.config.js file in your project's root directory (next to your package.json file) and add the following code.

next.config.js
// 👇️ assumes you use Webpack 5
module.exports = {
  webpack5: true,
  webpack: config => {
    config.resolve.fallback = {
      buffer: false,
    };

    return config;
  },
};

If you have an existing next.config.js file and still use Webpack version 4, edit your config to look as follows.

next.config.js
// 👇️ assumes you use Webpack 4
module.exports = {
  webpack: (config, {isServer}) => {
    if (!isServer) {
      config.node = {
        buffer: 'empty',
      };
    }

    return config;
  },
};

If you get an error such as "Module not found: Can't resolve 'path'" or "Module not found: Can't resolve 'zlib'", you would have to add a path or a zlib property to your config object just like we did for the buffer property.

# Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'http'

The error "Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'http'" occurs because there has been a breaking change in Webpack version 5.

To solve the error, set the browser.http property to false in your package.json file.

module not found error cant resolve http

shell
⛔️ Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'http' in '/home/borislav/Desktop/bobbyhadz-rest/bobbyhadz-react/node_modules/express/lib'

BREAKING CHANGE: webpack < 5 used to include polyfills for node.js core modules by default.
This is no longer the case. Verify if you need this module and configure a polyfill for it.

If you want to include a polyfill, you need to:
    - add a fallback 'resolve.fallback: { "http": require.resolve("stream-http") }'
    - install 'stream-http'
If you don't want to include a polyfill, you can use an empty module like this:
    resolve.fallback: { "http": false }

The first thing you should try is to set the browser.http property to false in your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ add this to package.json 👇️
  "browser": {
    "http": false,
    "https": false,
  }
}
Add the browser object to your package.json file as shown in the code sample.

Http is a Node.js core module and should most likely not be bundled with your client-side code.

By setting http to false, we use an empty module instead of including a polyfill for the http module.

If your error is resolved, you don't have to do anything else.

If the error persists, you have to edit your webpack.config.js file:

  1. Make sure you have stream-http installed.
shell
npm install stream-http
npm install https-browserify

yarn add stream-http
yarn add https-browserify
  1. Open your webpack.config.js and add a fallback to your resolve.fallback property.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = function (webpackEnv) {
  // ...
  return {
   // ...
    resolve: {
      // ...
      fallback: {
        // 👇️👇️👇️ add this 👇️👇️👇️
        http: require.resolve('stream-http'),
        https: require.resolve('https-browserify'),
      }
    }
  }
}
You can try to CTRL + F for resolve: if your webpack.config.js file is cluttered and long.

Note that if you include a polyfill, you should remove the browser.http property from your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ REMOVE this from package.json
  "browser": {
    "http": false,
    "https": false,
  }
}

If you use "Create React App", you might have to edit your node_modules/react-scripts/config/webpack.config.json file.

Alternatively, you can run the npm run eject command, but it is a one-way operation.

Once you run the command, you can't go back.

The command removes the single-build dependency from your project and copies the configuration files into your project as dependencies in package.json.

shell
npm run eject

Once you run the npm run eject command, a config directory is created.

The config directory contains a webpack.config.js file that you should edit.

Open your config/webpack.config.js file and add a fallback to your resolve.fallback property.

webpack.config.js
module.exports = function (webpackEnv) {
  // ...
  return {
   // ...
    resolve: {
      // ...
      fallback: {
        // 👇️👇️👇️ add this 👇️👇️👇️
        http: require.resolve('stream-http'),
        https: require.resolve('https-browserify'),
      }
    }
  }
}

Note that if you include a polyfill, you should remove the browser.https property from your package.json file.

package.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {},

  // 👇️ REMOVE this from package.json
  "browser": {
    "http": false,
    "https": false,
  }
}

If the error is not resolved and you use Next.js, you might be trying to use the http module in code that is run on the browser.

# Module not found: Can't resolve 'http' in Next.js

If you use the Node.js built-in http module in your Next.js application, you have to be sure to only use it on the server.

You can use http in your getStaticProps and getServerSideProps.

If you use the Node.js (server-side) http module outside of the getStaticProps, getStaticPaths and getServerSideProps methods, the error occurs.

example.js
import {get} from 'http';

// ⛔️ CAN'T use http here ⛔️

export const getServerSideProps = async () => {
  // ✅ Can use http here (runs only on the server)
  console.log(get);

  return {
    props: {}, // will be passed to the page component as props
  }
};

If you use the http module in your code, remove the browser.http property from your package.json file if you've set it to false.

If you don't use the http module in your code, create a next.config.js file in your project's root directory (next to your package.json file) and add the following code.

next.config.js
// 👇️ assumes you use Webpack 5
module.exports = {
  webpack5: true,
  webpack: config => {
    config.resolve.fallback = {
      http: false,
    };

    return config;
  },
};

If you have an existing next.config.js file and still use Webpack version 4, edit your config to look as follows.

next.config.js
// 👇️ assumes you use Webpack 4
module.exports = {
  webpack: (config, {isServer}) => {
    if (!isServer) {
      config.node = {
        http: 'empty',
      };
    }

    return config;
  },
};

If you get an error such as "Module not found: Can't resolve 'path'" or "Module not found: Can't resolve 'zlib'", you would have to add a path or a zlib property to your config object just like we did for the http property.

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