Turn cryptic error messages into plain English.
Instantly understand what went wrong, why it happened, and exactly how to fix it.

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We've all been there. You run your code, and the console spits out: TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'map') Error: Objects are not valid as a React child ReferenceError: Cannot access 'count' before initialization

These messages are accurate but not helpful. They tell you what broke, but rarely why or how to fix it.

Developer Error Message Translator takes these raw error strings and returns a structured, human-readable explanation with actionable fixes.

It supports:

• ⚛️ React: Hook rules, unique keys, re-renders, object rendering.
• 🟢 Node.js: Module errors, ESM vs CommonJS conflicts.
• 🌐 Network/API: Axios errors, Fetch failures, 404/500 codes.
• ⚡ Core JS: TypeErrors, ReferenceErrors, SyntaxErrors (including TDZ).
• 📦 NPM: Dependency conflicts (ERESOLVE), missing files (ENOENT).

npm install developer-error-message-translator

Use it in your error boundaries, logging services, or CLI tools.

import translateError from 'developer-error-message-translator'; try { // Your buggy code const user = null; console.log(user.name); } catch (error) { const helpful = translateError(error.message); console.log("🔍 Exploration:", helpful.explanation); console.log("❓ Possible Causes:", helpful.causes); console.log("✅ How to Fix:", helpful.fixes); }

Output:

🔍 Exploration: You are trying to access the property 'name' on a variable that is currently 'null'. ❓ Possible Causes: - The variable hasn't been assigned a value yet. - You might be trying to access data from an API call before it has finished loading. ✅ How to Fix: - Use optional chaining: variable?.name - Check if the variable exists before accessing 'name'. - Initialize the variable with a default value. 

You can also valid errors directly from your terminal!

npx dev-translate "Error: Objects are not valid as a React child"

• Objects are not valid as a React child
• Too many re-renders
• Each child in a list should have a unique "key" prop
• Invalid hook call
• Cannot update a component while rendering a different component

• Cannot find module 'x'
• ReferenceError: require is not defined (ESM)
• SyntaxError: Unexpected token 'export' (CommonJS)
• ENOENT: no such file or directory
• npm ERR! ERESOLVE unable to resolve dependency tree

• TypeError: Failed to fetch
• AxiosError: Network Error
• Request failed with status code 404 / 500
• EADDRINUSE: address already in use

• Cannot read property of undefined / null
• X is not a function
• Cannot destructure property
• Assignment to constant variable
• Cannot access 'X' before initialization (TDZ)
• Do not know how to serialize a BigInt
• Converting circular structure to JSON
• Unexpected token '<' (JSX in JS file)

We love contributions! If you encounter an error that isn't translated well, please open an issue or submit a PR with a new pattern in src/patterns.

1. Fork the repo
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/new-error)
3. Add your pattern and tests
4. Commit your changes
5. Push to the branch
6. Open a Pull Request

ISC