High severity beginner · Fix: 2-5 min

wandb.errors.CommError

wandb.errors.CommError: project not found entity error

What this error means

Weights & Biases (wandb) raises a 'project not found entity' error when the specified project or entity does not exist or is inaccessible due to misconfiguration or authentication issues.

Stack trace

traceback

wandb.errors.CommError: project not found entity error
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/wandb/sdk/wandb_init.py", line 123, in _init
    self._backend = backend.Backend(self._settings)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/wandb/sdk/backend/backend.py", line 45, in __init__
    self._api = InternalApi(settings=settings)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/wandb/sdk/internal/internal_api.py", line 78, in __init__
    self._check_project_exists()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/wandb/sdk/internal/internal_api.py", line 120, in _check_project_exists
    raise CommError("project not found entity error")

QUICK FIX

Set the correct 'project' and 'entity' parameters in wandb.init() and ensure WANDB_API_KEY is set in your environment.

Why it happens

This error occurs when wandb cannot find the specified project under the given entity (user or team). It usually happens because the project name or entity is misspelled, the project does not exist, or the API key lacks permission to access the project. It can also occur if the wandb login is not properly configured or the environment variables are missing.

Detection

Check wandb initialization logs for 'project not found entity error' and verify the project and entity names match exactly what exists in your WandB account before the run starts.

Causes & fixes

Incorrect or misspelled project name in wandb.init() call

✓ Fix

Verify and correct the 'project' parameter in wandb.init() to exactly match the project name in your WandB dashboard.

Incorrect or misspelled entity (user or team) name in wandb.init()

✓ Fix

Set the 'entity' parameter in wandb.init() to the correct username or team name that owns the project.

WandB API key not set or lacks access permissions

✓ Fix

Ensure your WandB API key is set in the environment variable WANDB_API_KEY and has permission to access the specified project and entity.

Not logged in to WandB or using an outdated login session

✓ Fix

Run 'wandb login' in your terminal or set WANDB_API_KEY environment variable before running your script.

Code: broken vs fixed

Broken - triggers the error

python

import wandb

wandb.init(project="myproject", entity="myteam")  # triggers 'project not found entity error' if names are wrong

Fixed - works correctly

python

import os
import wandb

os.environ["WANDB_API_KEY"] = os.getenv("WANDB_API_KEY")  # Ensure API key is set
wandb.init(project="correct_project_name", entity="correct_entity_name")  # fixed project and entity names

Corrected the project and entity names to match the WandB dashboard and ensured the API key is set in the environment for authentication.

⚠

Workaround

Wrap wandb.init() in try/except to catch CommError, then log the error and fallback to local logging or disable wandb logging temporarily.

✓

Prevention

Always verify project and entity names against your WandB dashboard and set WANDB_API_KEY environment variable before running scripts to avoid authentication and configuration errors.

Python 3.7+ · wandb >=0.10.0 · tested on 0.15.x

Verified 2026-04

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