The many-to-many tables are not connecting

I'm trying to establish a many-to-many relationship, but I keep encountering an error.

> EagerLoadingError [SequelizeEagerLoadingError]: hints is not
> associated to hints_sections!

Hints.js

const { sequelize, Sequelize } = require('./database');
    
    const Hints = sequelize.define(
      'hints',
      {
        id: {
          type: Sequelize.INTEGER,
          autoIncrement: true,
          primaryKey: true,
          allowNull: false,
        },
        title: {
          type: Sequelize.STRING(255),
          allowNull: false,
        },
        content: {
          type: Sequelize.STRING(5000),
          allowNull: false,
        },
        user_id: {
          type: Sequelize.INTEGER,
          references: {
            model: 'users',
            key: 'id'
          },
          allowNull: false,
        },
      },{
        timestamps: false,
      });
    
    module.exports = Hints;

Sections.js

const { sequelize, Sequelize } = require('./database');
    
    const Sections = sequelize.define(
      'sections',
      {
        id: {
          type: Sequelize.INTEGER,
          autoIncrement: true,
          primaryKey: true,
          allowNull: false,
        },
        title: {
          type: Sequelize.STRING(255),
          allowNull: false,
        },
        parent_id: {
          type: Sequelize.INTEGER,
          references: {
            model: 'sections',
            key: 'id'
          },
          allowNull: true,
        },
        position: {
          type: Sequelize.INTEGER,
          allowNull: true,
        },
      },{
        timestamps: false,
      });
    
    module.exports = Sections;

HintsSections.js

const { sequelize, Sequelize } = require('./database');
    const Hints = require('./Hints');
    const Sections = require('./Sections');
    
    const HintsSections = sequelize.define(
      'hints_sections',
      {
        id: {
          type: Sequelize.INTEGER,
          autoIncrement: true,
          primaryKey: true,
          allowNull: false,
        },
        hint_id: {
          type: Sequelize.INTEGER,
          allowNull: false,
          references: {
            model: 'hints', 
            key: 'id'
          },
        },
        section_id: {
          type: Sequelize.INTEGER,
          allowNull: false,
          references: {
            model: 'sections',
            key: 'id'
          },
        },
      },
      {
        timestamps: false,
        freezeTableName: true,
      });
    
    module.exports = HintsSections;

index.js

    const Hints = require('./Hints');
    const Sections = require('./Sections');
    const HintsSections = require('./HintsSections');
    const { sequelize, Sequelize } = require('./database');
    
    Hints.belongsToMany(Sections, { through: HintsSections, foreignKey: 'hint_id', otherKey: 'section_id', });
    Sections.belongsToMany(Hints, { through: HintsSections, foreignKey: 'section_id', otherKey: 'hint_id', });
    
    async function init() {
      await sequelize.sync().then(async (result) => {
        const response = await Roles.findAll({});
      
        if(response.length < 3) {
          Roles.create({ title: 'admin' });
          Roles.create({ title: 'moderator' });
          Roles.create({ title: 'user' });
        }
      });
    }
    
    init();
    
    module.exports = {
      Roles,
      Users,
      News,
      Hints,
      Sections,
      HintsSections,
    }

Then, in one of the files, I do...

        HintsSections.findAll({
          where: { section_id: id },
          offset: offset,
          limit: limit,
          include: {
            model: Hints
          }
        });

I tried removing references from HintsSections, I tried moving the association to HintsSections, but I keep getting the same error. I also attempted to consolidate everything into one file, but the tables still don't establish a connection. I can't figure out what the error is. What should I do?

If you wish to query a junction table using its model as a main model then you need to add all needed associations from HintsSections to linked table models explicitly:

 HintsSections.belongsTo(Hints, { foreignKey: 'hint_id' });
 HintsSections.belongsTo(Sections, { foreignKey: 'section_id' });

Your already defined associations will work in cases when you query Hints and include Sections and vice versa