install.sh: hint at root-owned npm cache when desktop npm install fails - #39688
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OutThisLife merged 1 commit intoJun 7, 2026
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When apps/desktop's `npm ci`/`npm install` fails, install_desktop printed a
single "Desktop workspace npm install failed" line and aborted, leaving the
user with a wall of raw npm output. A common trigger is a root-owned ~/.npm
cache left by an earlier `sudo npm`/`sudo npx`: the non-root install then
cannot write the shared cache, and npm reports it as EEXIST / "File exists"
while the real errno is EACCES (-13) -- so it reads like an installer bug.
Add a targeted remediation hint on that failure path pointing at:
sudo chown -R "$(id -un)" ~/.npm && npm cache verify
followed by the manual rebuild command. The stage stays a hard failure by
design (a silent skip yields a "complete" install with no app); only the
failure output changes.
alt-glitch
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OutThisLife
enabled auto-merge (squash)
June 7, 2026 17:51
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changman
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Jun 10, 2026
…ls (NousResearch#39688) When apps/desktop's `npm ci`/`npm install` fails, install_desktop printed a single "Desktop workspace npm install failed" line and aborted, leaving the user with a wall of raw npm output. A common trigger is a root-owned ~/.npm cache left by an earlier `sudo npm`/`sudo npx`: the non-root install then cannot write the shared cache, and npm reports it as EEXIST / "File exists" while the real errno is EACCES (-13) -- so it reads like an installer bug. Add a targeted remediation hint on that failure path pointing at: sudo chown -R "$(id -un)" ~/.npm && npm cache verify followed by the manual rebuild command. The stage stays a hard failure by design (a silent skip yields a "complete" install with no app); only the failure output changes.
alt-glitch
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Jun 14, 2026
…ls (#39688) When apps/desktop's `npm ci`/`npm install` fails, install_desktop printed a single "Desktop workspace npm install failed" line and aborted, leaving the user with a wall of raw npm output. A common trigger is a root-owned ~/.npm cache left by an earlier `sudo npm`/`sudo npx`: the non-root install then cannot write the shared cache, and npm reports it as EEXIST / "File exists" while the real errno is EACCES (-13) -- so it reads like an installer bug. Add a targeted remediation hint on that failure path pointing at: sudo chown -R "$(id -un)" ~/.npm && npm cache verify followed by the manual rebuild command. The stage stays a hard failure by design (a silent skip yields a "complete" install with no app); only the failure output changes.
davidgut1982
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Jun 17, 2026
…ls (NousResearch#39688) When apps/desktop's `npm ci`/`npm install` fails, install_desktop printed a single "Desktop workspace npm install failed" line and aborted, leaving the user with a wall of raw npm output. A common trigger is a root-owned ~/.npm cache left by an earlier `sudo npm`/`sudo npx`: the non-root install then cannot write the shared cache, and npm reports it as EEXIST / "File exists" while the real errno is EACCES (-13) -- so it reads like an installer bug. Add a targeted remediation hint on that failure path pointing at: sudo chown -R "$(id -un)" ~/.npm && npm cache verify followed by the manual rebuild command. The stage stays a hard failure by design (a silent skip yields a "complete" install with no app); only the failure output changes.
T02200059
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Jun 18, 2026
…ls (NousResearch#39688) When apps/desktop's `npm ci`/`npm install` fails, install_desktop printed a single "Desktop workspace npm install failed" line and aborted, leaving the user with a wall of raw npm output. A common trigger is a root-owned ~/.npm cache left by an earlier `sudo npm`/`sudo npx`: the non-root install then cannot write the shared cache, and npm reports it as EEXIST / "File exists" while the real errno is EACCES (-13) -- so it reads like an installer bug. Add a targeted remediation hint on that failure path pointing at: sudo chown -R "$(id -un)" ~/.npm && npm cache verify followed by the manual rebuild command. The stage stays a hard failure by design (a silent skip yields a "complete" install with no app); only the failure output changes.
waefrebeorn
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Jul 2, 2026
…ls (NousResearch#39688) When apps/desktop's `npm ci`/`npm install` fails, install_desktop printed a single "Desktop workspace npm install failed" line and aborted, leaving the user with a wall of raw npm output. A common trigger is a root-owned ~/.npm cache left by an earlier `sudo npm`/`sudo npx`: the non-root install then cannot write the shared cache, and npm reports it as EEXIST / "File exists" while the real errno is EACCES (-13) -- so it reads like an installer bug. Add a targeted remediation hint on that failure path pointing at: sudo chown -R "$(id -un)" ~/.npm && npm cache verify followed by the manual rebuild command. The stage stays a hard failure by design (a silent skip yields a "complete" install with no app); only the failure output changes.
santhreal
pushed a commit
to santhreal/hermes-agent
that referenced
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Jul 13, 2026
…ls (NousResearch#39688) When apps/desktop's `npm ci`/`npm install` fails, install_desktop printed a single "Desktop workspace npm install failed" line and aborted, leaving the user with a wall of raw npm output. A common trigger is a root-owned ~/.npm cache left by an earlier `sudo npm`/`sudo npx`: the non-root install then cannot write the shared cache, and npm reports it as EEXIST / "File exists" while the real errno is EACCES (-13) -- so it reads like an installer bug. Add a targeted remediation hint on that failure path pointing at: sudo chown -R "$(id -un)" ~/.npm && npm cache verify followed by the manual rebuild command. The stage stays a hard failure by design (a silent skip yields a "complete" install with no app); only the failure output changes.
donbowman
pushed a commit
to donbowman/hermes-agent
that referenced
this pull request
Jul 13, 2026
…ls (NousResearch#39688) When apps/desktop's `npm ci`/`npm install` fails, install_desktop printed a single "Desktop workspace npm install failed" line and aborted, leaving the user with a wall of raw npm output. A common trigger is a root-owned ~/.npm cache left by an earlier `sudo npm`/`sudo npx`: the non-root install then cannot write the shared cache, and npm reports it as EEXIST / "File exists" while the real errno is EACCES (-13) -- so it reads like an installer bug. Add a targeted remediation hint on that failure path pointing at: sudo chown -R "$(id -un)" ~/.npm && npm cache verify followed by the manual rebuild command. The stage stays a hard failure by design (a silent skip yields a "complete" install with no app); only the failure output changes.
Gravezzz
pushed a commit
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that referenced
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Jul 21, 2026
…ls (NousResearch#39688) When apps/desktop's `npm ci`/`npm install` fails, install_desktop printed a single "Desktop workspace npm install failed" line and aborted, leaving the user with a wall of raw npm output. A common trigger is a root-owned ~/.npm cache left by an earlier `sudo npm`/`sudo npx`: the non-root install then cannot write the shared cache, and npm reports it as EEXIST / "File exists" while the real errno is EACCES (-13) -- so it reads like an installer bug. Add a targeted remediation hint on that failure path pointing at: sudo chown -R "$(id -un)" ~/.npm && npm cache verify followed by the manual rebuild command. The stage stays a hard failure by design (a silent skip yields a "complete" install with no app); only the failure output changes.
leewenjie
pushed a commit
to leewenjie/hermes-agent
that referenced
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Aug 7, 2026
…ls (NousResearch#39688) When apps/desktop's `npm ci`/`npm install` fails, install_desktop printed a single "Desktop workspace npm install failed" line and aborted, leaving the user with a wall of raw npm output. A common trigger is a root-owned ~/.npm cache left by an earlier `sudo npm`/`sudo npx`: the non-root install then cannot write the shared cache, and npm reports it as EEXIST / "File exists" while the real errno is EACCES (-13) -- so it reads like an installer bug. Add a targeted remediation hint on that failure path pointing at: sudo chown -R "$(id -un)" ~/.npm && npm cache verify followed by the manual rebuild command. The stage stays a hard failure by design (a silent skip yields a "complete" install with no app); only the failure output changes.
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Summary
When the desktop build can't install its workspace dependencies,
install_desktopprints a single line —Desktop workspace npm install failed— and aborts. If the underlying npm failure is the (surprisingly common) root-owned cache problem, the user is left staring at a wall of npm output with no hint that it's a local permissions issue rather than a problem with the installer.The trigger:
~/.npmholds cache entries owned byroot, left behind by an earliersudo npm/sudo npx. A later non-rootnpm installthen can't write those cache paths and fails. npm surfaces this asEEXIST/ "File exists" witherrno -13, which is actuallyEACCES(permission denied).What this changes
On the desktop-install failure path only, print a short, targeted hint pointing at the fix:
…followed by the manual rebuild command. This mirrors the "Run manually: …" guidance already used elsewhere in the same function. No behavior change on success, and the stage stays a hard failure as intended.
Why not just make the stage non-fatal?
The hard
return 1is deliberate — see the comment aboveinstall_desktop: a silent skip produces a "complete" install with no app and a confusing launch-time error. This keeps that contract and only makes the failure self-explanatory.Notes
Scoped to the bash installer (
scripts/install.sh), the path most users hit;scripts/install.ps1carries the same message and could get a parity hint in a follow-up. Verified withbash -n.