"EMALFORMED Failed to read bower.json" on "bower install requirejs-text"

Question

When I attempt to install requirejs-text, I'm getting an error that I don't understand.

$ bower install requirejs-text
bower                       EMALFORMED Failed to read /Users/bgolder/projects/explorer/front/bower.json

Additional error details:
Unexpected string

In bower.json, I can't see anything wrong.

{
  "name": "front",
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "dependencies": {
    "bootstrap": "~3.1.1"
    "jquery": "~1.10.2",
    "requirejs": "~2.1.9",
    "requirejs-text": "~2.0.10",
    "underscore": "~1.5.2",
    "backbone": "~1.1.0",
    "modernizr": "~2.6.2"
  },
  "devDependencies": {},
}

If I use the verbose option on bower, I get this trace.

bower                       EMALFORMED Failed to read /Users/bgolder/projects/explorer/front/bower.json

Additional error details:
Unexpected string

Stack trace:
SyntaxError: Unexpected string
    at Object.parse (native)
    at /usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/node_modules/bower-json/lib/json.js:41:29
    at fs.js:266:14
    at /usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/node_modules/graceful-fs/graceful-fs.js:104:5
    at Object.oncomplete (fs.js:107:15)
From previous event:
    at readJson (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/lib/util/readJson.js:17:6)
    at Project._readJson (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/lib/core/Project.js:539:25)
    at Project._analyse (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/lib/core/Project.js:445:14)
    at Project.install (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/lib/core/Project.js:47:17)

Console trace:
Trace
    at StandardRenderer.error (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/lib/renderers/StandardRenderer.js:74:17)
    at Logger.<anonymous> (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/bin/bower:114:22)
    at Logger.EventEmitter.emit (events.js:95:17)
    at Logger.emit (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/node_modules/bower-logger/lib/Logger.js:29:39)
    at /usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/lib/commands/install.js:35:16
    at _rejected (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/node_modules/q/q.js:797:24)
    at /usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/node_modules/q/q.js:823:30
    at Promise.when (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/node_modules/q/q.js:1035:31)
    at Promise.promise.promiseDispatch (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/node_modules/q/q.js:741:41)
    at /usr/local/lib/node_modules/bower/node_modules/q/q.js:557:44

System info:
Bower version: 1.3.1
Node version: 0.10.26
OS: Darwin 13.1.0 x64

Which still doesn't explain what's wrong.

Answer 1

There are two syntax errors in your JSON file. The first error was a missing , after "bootstrap": "~3.1.1". This is why you got the error message you had. The "jquery" string on the next line was not expected. I found this error by inspecting your file by eye. Loading it in a JavaScript or a JSON editor would also have revealed it.

The second error was the comma after {}. A JavaScript parser won't have a problem with it but the JSON parser does. I presume a JSON editor would have revealed this problem. I discovered it by relying on the new error message I got and trial and error.

Here's the fixed file:

{
  "name": "front",
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "dependencies": {
    "bootstrap": "~3.1.1",
    "jquery": "~1.10.2",
    "requirejs": "~2.1.9",
    "requirejs-text": "~2.0.10",
    "underscore": "~1.5.2",
    "backbone": "~1.1.0",
    "modernizr": "~2.6.2"
  },
  "devDependencies": {}
}

Answer 2

[UPDATE]

Louis' answer is likely the correct one here! I'm letting mine in for reference, but it's probably not correct for the OP specific case.

[INITIAL ANSWER]

You are on windows, and you are using a text editor that adds a BOM to your bower.json file when editing it.

Then bower complains about it because it can't read it (EMALFORMED) - which is quite accurate, if not really helpful about what the issue is.

The solution: start your bower.json file from scratch, using a text editor that doesn't sucks (and doesn't add a BOM).

See here, and here, for other people in the same case.

(and this is unrelated to requirejs-text - it's your bower.json file which is malformed)

Answer 3

I had a similar error for a .bower.json file in my solution, and for some reason the content of that file had been deleted during an automated process. I was able to delete the file and pull it back from source control, which fixed my issue.