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Cannot read property 'sanity' of undefined in Sanity Studio

30 replies
Last updated: Jan 27, 2026
Uncaught error
Cannot read property 'sanity' of undefined

Stack:

TypeError: 
    at <https://dolcestilcriollo.sanity.studio/static/js/app.bundle.js?f8e5bbd157acfb86fc43:1163:3413841>
    at ye (<https://dolcestilcriollo.sanity.studio/static/js/app.bundle.js?f8e5bbd157acfb86fc43:30:552292>)
    at ye (<https://dolcestilcriollo.sanity.studio/static/js/app.bundle.js?f8e5bbd157acfb86fc43:30:552065>)
    at e.t.createStyles (<https://dolcestilcriollo.sanity.studio/static/js/app.bundle.js?f8e5bbd157acfb86fc43:30:558162>)
    at e.t.renderStyles (<https://dolcestilcriollo.sanity.studio/static/js/app.bundle.js?f8e5bbd157acfb86fc43:30:558401>)
    at u (<https://dolcestilcriollo.sanity.studio/static/js/app.bundle.js?f8e5bbd157acfb86fc43:30:558961>)
    at <https://dolcestilcriollo.sanity.studio/static/js/app.bundle.js?f8e5bbd157acfb86fc43:30:558777>
    at ro (<https://dolcestilcriollo.sanity.studio/static/js/vendor.bundle.js?2163562f6812e454f877:17:83208>)
    at lo (<https://dolcestilcriollo.sanity.studio/static/js/vendor.bundle.js?2163562f6812e454f877:17:83311>)
    at pu (<https://dolcestilcriollo.sanity.studio/static/js/vendor.bundle.js?2163562f6812e454f877:17:101245>)

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AI Update

This error Cannot read property 'sanity' of undefined is a known issue from Sanity Studio v2 that's related to theme configuration and dependency conflicts with styled-components. Here's how to fix it:

Quick Solutions

1. Delete dependencies and reinstall (Most reliable fix)

# Remove lock file and node_modules
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
# or if using yarn:
rm -rf node_modules yarn.lock

# Reinstall everything
npm install
# or
yarn install

This resolved the issue for multiple users experiencing the same problem.

2. Upgrade to the latest Sanity version

The error was particularly common in Sanity v2.1.x through v2.5.x. Updating often fixes it:

sanity upgrade

One user confirmed that upgrading from v2.5.0 to the latest version solved the issue.

3. Check for plugin conflicts

If the error appeared after installing a plugin (like sanity-plugin-power-table or sanity-plugin-tabs):

  • Temporarily remove the plugin to confirm it's the cause
  • Update to the latest Sanity version (plugins may require newer versions)
  • Check if the plugin itself has updates

What Caused This?

The root issue was a dependency mismatch in Sanity's dependency tree:

  • @sanity/form-builder depended on @sanity/ui@^0.28.0
  • @sanity/ui@0.28.0 required styled-components@^5.2 as a peer dependency
  • But the installation was pulling in both v5.1 and v5.2 of styled-components

This created a situation where the theme object structure wasn't what the code expected, causing theme.sanity to be undefined.

The Sanity team fixed this in later versions by making @sanity/ui and styled-components peer dependencies instead of direct dependencies, which resolved the version conflicts.

If You're on Studio v3

If you're using Sanity Studio v3 (the current version), this issue shouldn't occur. Make sure you're running:

  • Node.js 20 or higher
  • The latest sanity package (npm install sanity@latest)

The quickest fix is usually deleting your lock file and node_modules, then reinstalling fresh. If that doesn't work, upgrade to the latest Sanity version.

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