workflow/docs/api-reference/workflow-errors/step-not-registered-error.mdx

Workflow SDK - Build durable, resilient, and observable workflows

---
title: StepNotRegisteredError
description: Thrown when a step function is not registered in the current deployment.
type: reference
summary: Catch StepNotRegisteredError when a step function cannot be found during execution.
related:
  - /docs/errors/step-not-registered
  - /docs/api-reference/workflow-errors/workflow-not-registered-error
---

`StepNotRegisteredError` is thrown when the runtime tries to execute a step function that is not registered in the current deployment. This is an infrastructure error, not a user code error. It typically indicates a build or bundling issue that caused the step to not be included in the deployment.

When this error occurs, the step fails (like a `FatalError`) and control is passed back to the workflow function, which can handle the failure gracefully.

```typescript lineNumbers
import { StepNotRegisteredError } from "workflow/errors"
declare const error: unknown; // @setup

if (StepNotRegisteredError.is(error)) { // [!code highlight]
  console.error("Step not registered:", error.stepName);
}
```

## API signature

### Properties

<TSDoc
definition={`
interface StepNotRegisteredError {
  /** The name of the step function that was not found. */
  stepName: string;
  /** The error message. */
  message: string;
}
export default StepNotRegisteredError;`}
/>

### Static methods

#### `StepNotRegisteredError.is(value)`

Type-safe check for `StepNotRegisteredError` instances. Preferred over `instanceof` because it works across module boundaries and virtual machine contexts.

<Callout>
The `.is()` method works in server-side Node.js code (API routes, middleware, hooks). Inside `"use workflow"` functions, step errors arrive deserialized from the event log and won't be actual `StepNotRegisteredError` instances. Use `error.message` matching instead. See the [troubleshooting page](/docs/errors/step-not-registered) for workflow-side error handling examples.
</Callout>

```typescript
import { StepNotRegisteredError } from "workflow/errors"
declare const error: unknown; // @setup

if (StepNotRegisteredError.is(error)) {
  // error is typed as StepNotRegisteredError
}
```