# LPK-E0201 — No law.toml

## What it means

Every project command runs from a project: a directory with a manifest that
names the package and pins its dependencies. When the directory has no
manifest, there is nothing to install, lock, or ask against, so the command
refuses before doing anything. Nothing is created or changed by the refusal.

Starting fresh means creating the manifest first; continuing work means
moving to the directory that already has one or pointing the command at it.

## Example

```pkgtest
{"files": {}, "cmd": ["install", "--project", "."], "expect": "LPK-E0201"}
```

## Fix

```pkgtest
{"files": {}, "cmd": ["init", ".", "--name", "demo.diag"]}
```

## Engine message

The tool reports this in its own wording:

```text
law: REFUSAL LPK-E0201: .: no law.toml
```

## Related

- [Package, context, snapshots](/recipes/n-package/) — what a project directory holds.