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Doom Emacs Errors After Update or doom sync

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Workaround available macOS, Linux, Windows Updated November 14, 2026Based on 2 user reportsHow we research

Quick answer

Doom Emacs errors usually come from an out-of-sync package state. Run doom sync, then doom doctor, and check your config for the module you changed.

Most likely fix: Sync and diagnose

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

  1. 1. Sync and diagnose

    1. Run ~/.config/emacs/bin/doom sync in a terminal
    2. Run bin/doom doctor and fix what it reports
    3. Restart Emacs
    Did this fix it?

  2. 2. Isolate your config

    1. Comment out recent changes in config.el, init.el, packages.el
    2. Start Emacs with --debug-init to see the stack trace
    3. Run M-x doom/reload after fixing
    Did this fix it?

  3. 3. Recover after an upgrade

    1. Run bin/doom upgrade then bin/doom sync
    2. Check the Doom changelog for breaking changes
    Did this fix it?

Symptoms

Error buffers at startup, void-function or void-variable errors, packages missing after doom upgrade or a config edit.

Why it happens

  • Config edited without running doom sync
  • Packages and Doom core out of sync after an upgrade
  • A misconfigured or removed module in init.el
  • Missing external tools such as git, ripgrep or fd

This guide also covers

  • doom emacs error
  • doom sync error
  • doom emacs not starting

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