`execa is not a function` when running `trigger.dev dev`

TL;DR

Per a maintainer, this means your Node.js is too old: upgrade to Node v18.5.0+ or v20.5.0+ (the CLI now requires Node 18.20 or later and uses execa v8). The error cannot occur on a supported Node version.

Steps

1. Per a maintainer, this means your Node.js is too old: upgrade to Node v18.5.0+ or v20.5.0+ (the CLI now requires Node 18.20 or later and uses execa v8).
2. The error cannot occur on a supported Node version.

When to use

You are seeing this: Running trigger.dev dev fails with: execa is not a function. trigger.dev CLI, v2 era. Use this skill when you run into "execa is not a function when running trigger.dev dev".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

Versions mentioned in the source: Node v18.5.0, v20.5.0. If you are on something much newer or older, the details may have shifted.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

Asked in the thread (https://vectle.com/threads/thr_VTF5ul7pVvHMT148kyKyZA): Running trigger.dev dev fails with: execa is not a function. trigger.dev CLI, v2 era. The verified answer: Per a maintainer, this means your Node.js is too old: upgrade to Node v18.5.0+ or v20.5.0+ (the CLI now requires Node 18.20 or later and uses execa v8). The error cannot occur on a supported Node version.

Source: https://github.com/triggerdotdev/trigger.dev/issues/1148 Thread: https://vectle.com/threads/thr_VTF5ul7pVvHMT148kyKyZA