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Sanity v3: Studio crashes when modifying split desk structure parts

6 replies
Last updated: Dec 2, 2025
Hey Sanity Team, I just upgraded a test studio to v3.. I am trying to split my desk structure up into parts, but I am not sure if I am doing this correctly (not using typescript).. This is a similar layout to the Hydrogen Studio starter. This MIGHT be a bug with the studio, but currently if you split your desk structure up into parts, then change something within one of those parts the studio crashes. Here is what I have:`sanity.config.js`:

plugins: [
  deskTool({
    structure
  }),
]
Then my 
structure
which is just 
index.js
in my /Desk folder:
import { home } from './home'

// Doc types
const hiddenDocTypes = (listItem) => {
  const id = listItem.getId()

  if (!id) {
    return false
  }

  return ![
    'homePage',
    'media.tag' // Media plugin
  ].includes(id)
}

export const structure = (S) =>
  S.list()
    .title('Content')
    .items([
      home(S),

      // Filter out docs already defined above
      ...S.documentTypeListItems().filter(hiddenDocTypes)
    ])
And finally my 
home.js
structure schema:
// Icons
import { HouseLine } from 'phosphor-react'

export const home = (S) =>
  S.listItem()
    .title('Home')
    .icon(HouseLine)
    .child(
      S.editor()
      .title('Home Page')
      .schemaType('homePage')
      .documentId('homePage')
    )
Again, I am not sure if I am doing this correctly as there is really no other example of this other than the Shopify Hydrogen Studio.. If I make a change in the 
home.js
my studo will crash.
AI Update

Your code structure looks correct - you're following the same modular pattern used in the Hydrogen starter. However, the crash you're experiencing when editing home.js isn't documented as expected behavior, and this appears to be a potential bug worth investigating.

Your setup follows best practices:

Your approach of splitting structure files is valid according to the Structure Builder documentation. The pattern you're using - exporting functions that accept the Structure Builder (S) parameter and composing them together - is the correct way to organize structure code:

// desk/home.js
export const home = (S) =>
  S.listItem()
    .title('Home')
    .icon(HouseLine)
    .child(
      S.editor()
        .title('Home Page')
        .schemaType('homePage')
        .documentId('homePage')
    )

// desk/index.js
import { home } from './home'

export const structure = (S) =>
  S.list()
    .title('Content')
    .items([
      home(S),
      ...S.documentTypeListItems().filter(hiddenDocTypes)
    ])

This matches the recommended patterns from the Structure Builder guide.

Troubleshooting steps:

Since crashes on file changes aren't documented behavior, try these approaches:

  1. Check your Studio version - Make sure you're on the latest Studio v3 release. Run npm list sanity to check your version, and consider updating if you're not on the latest.

  2. Look for console errors - When the crash happens, check your browser console and terminal for specific error messages. These will be helpful when reporting the issue.

  3. Verify your imports - Ensure there are no circular dependencies between your structure files and that all imports resolve correctly.

  4. Test with minimal configuration - Temporarily simplify your home.js to rule out issues with the icon import or specific Structure Builder methods:

export const home = (S) =>
  S.listItem()
    .title('Home')
    .child(S.documentTypeList('homePage'))
  1. Try manual refresh - As a temporary workaround while developing, you might need to manually refresh the browser after saving structure file changes rather than relying on hot module reload.

Report this issue:

Since this behavior isn't documented and your code follows established patterns, I'd recommend reporting this:

Include details like your Studio version, Node version, and the exact error messages you're seeing. The Sanity team can then determine if this is a bug with hot module reloading when structure files are split across modules, or if there's a specific configuration issue causing the problem.

Your code organization is solid - the issue appears to be with how the development server handles these particular file updates, not with your structure implementation.

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