Reproduction case for #1529: using an extension when no dune-project file is present. $ dune build @install 2>&1 | sed "s/(lang dune .*)/(lang dune )/" | sed "s/(using menhir .*)/(using menhir )/" File ".", line 1, characters 0-0: Warning: No dune-project file has been found in directory ".". A default one is assumed but the project might break when dune is upgraded. Please create a dune-project file. Hint: generate the project file with: $ dune init project File "dune", line 1, characters 0-25: 1 | (menhir (modules parser)) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Error: 'menhir' is available only when menhir is enabled in the dune-project file. You must enable it using (using menhir ) in your dune-project file.