`TypeError: element2.getAttribute is not a function`

[hyunbinseo]

Note

If you face similar issue, please comment on #15337

Describe the bug

On an existing, working SvelteKit project without any errors, this suddenly happens in the browser:

Caution

Uncaught (in promise) TypeError: element2.getAttribute is not a function

/**
 * @param {Element} element
 * @param {string} attribute
 * @param {string | null} value
 * @param {boolean} [skip_warning]
 */
export function set_attribute(element, attribute, value, skip_warning) {
	// @ts-expect-error
	var attributes = (element.__attributes ??= {});

	if (hydrating) {
		attributes[attribute] = element.getAttribute(attribute); // here

  in +layout.svelte
  in root.svelte
    set_attribute attributes.js:154
    _layout +layout.svelte:48
    head svelte-head.js:59
    update_reaction runtime.js:427

    (omitted below)

This happens on both macOS and Windows.

This is not fixed with

• disabling browser cache or using the incognito tab
• trying another browser (e.g. Chrome instead of Firefox)
• deleting node_modules/.vite and restarting dev server
• removing node_modules and reinstalling dependencies
• re-cloning the project and starting fresh

Reproduction

Cannot provide reproduction (yet)

System Info

System:
  OS: Windows 11 10.0.26100
  CPU: (8) x64 Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 7 258V
  Memory: 9.05 GB / 31.51 GB
Binaries:
  Node: 22.14.0 - ~\AppData\Local\fnm_multishells\160156_1739934653049\node.EXE
  npm: 10.9.2 - ~\AppData\Local\fnm_multishells\160156_1739934653049\npm.CMD   
  pnpm: 10.3.0 - ~\AppData\Local\fnm_multishells\160156_1739934653049\pnpm.CMD 
Browsers:
  Edge: Chromium (131.0.2903.112)

Severity

blocking all usage of svelte

[hyunbinseo]

Clearing pnpm store does not work:

pnpm store prune
# Removed all cached metadata files
# Removed 5948 files
# Removed 195 packages

Remove-Item -Path "node_modules" -Recurse -Force
Remove-Item -Path ".svelte-kit" -Recurse -Force

pnpm i --force
#  WARN  using --force I sure hope you know what you are doing
# Lockfile is up to date, resolution step is skipped
# Packages: +431

pnpm dev

Using a different version of Svelte does not work:

pnpm update svelte
# - svelte 5.19.10
# + svelte 5.20.2

pnpm dev

Using npm does not work:

npm i
npm run dev

Changing the port number does not work:

vite dev --port 4173

[bobvork]

I'm having the same issue, and am similarly puzzled as to what's causing this. I've tried the same steps as mentioned in #15337. I also went back a few svelte versions just to be sure.

In my case, this seems to be triggered in a component, but only if I refresh the page. When the component becomes visible through the state it's fine.
I'll see if I can create a reproducible project from this and report back if I can find more info

[hyunbinseo]

@bobvork Thanks for sharing your experience. Could you leave a comment on #15337 as well?

This issue was rushed and I should have put more thought on it before creating it.

I have updated this issue's introduction to guide users to #15337 as well.