Fix · Vercel and deploying

Wrong root directory: Vercel cannot find my project

Not checked against the vendor's current screens

What you may see

Build says no package.json found or nothing to build
My project sits inside a folder in the repository (a monorepo)

Most likely cause

Vercel starts at the top folder of the repository, but the app lives in a sub-folder.

Check first (about two minutes)

Look at your repository on GitHub: is package.json at the top, or inside a folder?

The fix prompt

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The exact error or what you see

What you did before it happened

Kept only in this browser, on this device. Keys and passwords are removed before anything is saved.

Prompt language

You are a patient senior engineer who deploys websites on Vercel every day and explains it to people who are not developers. I am not a developer, so explain every step in plain words and tell me exactly which button, menu or command you mean. If you are not sure about something, say so; do not guess.

Menu and button names change over time. If you cannot find a button or page I mention, say so and tell me what to look for instead of guessing.

THE PROBLEM
Wrong root directory: Vercel cannot find my project

THE EXACT ERROR OR WHAT I SEE
[paste the exact error here]

WHAT I DID BEFORE IT HAPPENED
[write in a few words what you did before it happened]

MOST LIKELY CAUSE
Vercel starts at the top folder of the repository, but the app lives in a sub-folder.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Find where package.json is and tell me the folder path.
2. Tell me which setting to change in the Vercel project (the root directory setting, on the general settings page; it may be labelled differently) and to what value.
3. Check that the build and install commands still make sense from that folder.
4. Redeploy and read the first lines of the log.
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- The log shows the framework detected and the build starts.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not restructure the repository to fix a setting.
- Anything I did not ask about: the design, the text, other pages, other settings or the data.
- Do not delete files, data or branches, do not reset or force-push, and do not rewrite history, unless you first show me exactly what would be lost and I say yes.
- Do not paste, print or ask me to paste a password or secret key into this chat. If one is needed, tell me which settings page of the right service to store it in.

WHEN YOU FINISH
Explain in simple words what you changed (file by file or setting by setting), why you changed it, and how I can undo it.

Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Cursor, then follow what it says.

After you tried it, did it work?

Steps

Find where package.json is and tell me the folder path.
Tell me which setting to change in the Vercel project (the root directory setting, on the general settings page; it may be labelled differently) and to what value.
Check that the build and install commands still make sense from that folder.
Redeploy and read the first lines of the log.

Do not do this

Do not create a second Vercel project for the same folder.
Do not restructure the repository to fix a setting.

Try another entry