Resolving “Error: This command is not available when running the Angular CLI outside a workspace in Angular”

This article will show how to resolve “Error: This command is not available when running the Angular CLI outside a workspace” in Angular.

Angular CLI (Command Line Interface) is a powerful tool for developing and managing Angular applications. However, sometimes you might encounter an error message like “Error: This command is not available when running the Angular CLI outside a workspace.” This error typically occurs when you’re trying to run Angular CLI commands outside of an Angular workspace directory. This tutorial will guide you through resolving this error.

Common Mistakes and Errors

New developers often make the mistake of running the ng serve command in the parent folder, resulting in the “This command is not available when running the Angular CLI outside a workspace” error. This error occurs because the Angular CLI expects to find the angular.json configuration file in the current directory.

Understanding the Issue

1. The Angular root directory contains the angular.json file, which is crucial for the proper execution of ng serve.
2. The ng serve command looks for the angular.json file while executing. If it is not found, the error is triggered.

Resolution Steps

To resolve this error, you need to ensure that you’re executing Angular CLI commands from within an Angular workspace directory. Here’s how you can do it:

Navigate to Your Angular Workspace Directory:
Open your terminal or command prompt and navigate to the root directory of your Angular workspace. This is typically the directory that contains the angular.json file.

   cd path/to/your/angular/workspace

Verify Your Workspace:
Once you’re in the Angular workspace directory, you can verify that you’re in the correct location by checking for the presence of the angular.json file.

   ls angular.json

If you see angular.json listed, you’re in the correct directory.

Execute Angular CLI Commands:
Now that you’re within your Angular workspace directory, you can execute Angular CLI commands without encountering the error. For example, you can run commands like ng serve, ng generate, ng build, etc.

   ng serve

Avoid Running Commands Outside of Workspace:
Remember that Angular CLI commands should only be executed from within the Angular workspace directory. If you need to run Angular CLI commands for a different project, navigate to the appropriate workspace directory first.

Additional Insights

• Be cautious when making changes to files generated by Angular CLI, especially the angular.json file. Deleting or renaming this file can lead to the same error. Always use version control systems like Git to track and revert changes.
• If you are using Nx Console and face issues where the angular.json file is automatically deleted, you can use Git to revert the deletion and fix the error.

Alternative Solution (Visual Studio Code)

If you are using Visual Studio Code, you can fix the error by following these steps:

1. Right-click on Project Name: Right-click on your project’s name in Visual Studio Code.
2. Open in Integrated Terminal: Click the “Open in Integrated Terminal” option.

This will open the project in your terminal, and the error should be resolved. Now you can run the ng serve or ng serve --open command without encountering any issues.

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the “This command is not available when running the Angular CLI outside a workspace” error and successfully run your Angular application.