fix(install): keep Hermes-managed Node private instead of hijacking the user's node

[raysonmeng]

Update — rebased onto latest main (+ adopted shared helpers, + hermes setup fix)

This branch was ~580 commits behind main; it has been rebased onto current main and the overlap reconciled:

• Resolved the one merge conflict (hermes_cli/main.py _update_node_dependencies). Since this branch was cut, main independently introduced hermes_constants.{find_node_executable, with_hermes_node_path, iter_hermes_node_dirs} for managed-Node resolution. The Python side now uses those shared helpers instead of the hand-rolled per-platform path logic this PR originally added — dep_ensure.py no longer re-derives $HERMES_HOME/node[/bin]; it defers to iter_hermes_node_dirs / find_hermes_node_executable (which are kept in sync with apps/desktop/electron/main.cjs). The install-side fix and the legacy-shim migration are unchanged — the symlink hijack still exists on current main, so this fix is still needed.
• hermes setup regression fix (new in this revision). Removing the PATH symlinks exposed a pre-existing bare shutil.which("npm"/"npx") in hermes_cli/tools_config.py::_run_post_setup: on a machine whose only Node was the Hermes symlink, the post-setup browser/camofox install was silently skipped. It now resolves via find_node_executable and runs npm/npx with env=with_hermes_node_path() (mirroring the existing WhatsApp / web-build call sites in main.py). Added a regression test (test_post_setup_browser_uses_managed_node_when_path_has_none) that fails on the old code.
• Tests: all touched suites pass — test_dep_ensure, test_cmd_update, test_tools_config, test_uninstall_node_symlinks, test_tui_resume_flow, test_install_sh_node_global_prefix, test_hermes_constants.

Deliberately out of scope (pre-existing, not introduced here)

Removing the PATH symlinks also exposes other pre-existing bare shutil.which / command -v node call sites that the symlinks were silently backstopping. These are not on the critical install / first-run / update path (which self-heals via _ensure_tui_node / ensure_dependency / the desktop PATH builder), so they are left for a separate follow-up:

• apps/desktop/electron/backend-env.cjs — Windows: omits the node/ root from the spawned backend's PATH (pre-dates this PR).
• hermes_cli/main.py _launch_tui — copies os.environ before _ensure_tui_node() prepends node/bin, so the TUI child env can lack the managed dir.
• hermes_cli/doctor.py — diagnostic-only false "node not found" on a private-node box.
• agent/lsp/install.py, plugins/platforms/photon/* — opt-in flows.
• try_existing_* node probes pick the lexicographically-first version ≥ build floor rather than newest / nvm default (no sort -V).

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What does this PR do?

On POSIX, the installer makes Hermes's bundled Node hijack the user's own Node. scripts/install.sh (and the lazy scripts/lib/node-bootstrap.sh) symlink the managed node/npm/npx into ~/.local/bin (or /usr/local/bin / $PREFIX/bin) and point the managed npm global prefix at the link dir's parent. Because ~/.local/bin typically sits ahead of a version manager's shims on PATH, this silently shadows the user's nvm/fnm/Volta Node — and it recurs on every install/update/lazy-ensure, so removing the symlinks by hand doesn't stick.

This makes the managed Node private to Hermes subprocesses and migrates away the legacy shims, so Hermes stops competing for the user's node on PATH.

Related Issue

No tracking issue — happy to open one if you'd like it linked.

Type of Change

• 🐛 Bug fix (non-breaking change that fixes an issue)

Changes Made

• scripts/install.sh, scripts/lib/node-bootstrap.sh — stop symlinking node/npm/npx into command dirs on install. Set the managed npm global prefix to $HERMES_HOME/node (so npm install -g bins land in $HERMES_HOME/node/bin, which is already on Hermes's runtime PATH and matches the explicit --prefix "$HERMES_HOME/node" the installer already uses for agent-browser — rather than an off-PATH $HERMES_HOME/bin).
• Migration — check_node / ensure_node / hermes update / lazy ensure_dependency remove legacy node/npm/npx shims, but only links that resolve into this $HERMES_HOME/node. Links the user repointed elsewhere (nvm/fnm/Volta) are left untouched (reuses uninstall.remove_node_symlinks).
• Prefer the user's version manager — check_node/ensure_node probe existing fnm/Volta/nvm Node before falling back to the private copy, so a one-time fallback never permanently wins over a version manager.
• hermes_cli/dep_ensure.py, hermes_cli/main.py — resolve $HERMES_HOME/node/bin for Hermes subprocesses without relying on a PATH symlink, and never prepend the private Node when the user already has node on PATH.
• hermes update idempotency — legacy shims are cleaned up even on the "Already up to date" early-return, so updates don't reintroduce the hijack.
• Per-platform layout — the managed-Node bin dir is node/bin on POSIX and node/ for the Windows portable zip; the new dep_ensure/update helpers honor both.
• Tests added/updated across tests/ for every behavior above.

How to Test

Reproduction (POSIX):

1. With nvm/fnm/Volta providing node on PATH, run the installer (or bash scripts/install.sh --ensure node).
2. Before this PR: ~/.local/bin/{node,npm,npx} get symlinked to the bundled Node and shadow the version manager (readlink $(command -v node) points into $HERMES_HOME/node); the symlinks come back after each hermes update.
3. After this PR: the version-manager Node stays in front; any legacy Hermes shims pointing into $HERMES_HOME/node are removed; user-repointed links are preserved.

Automated:

scripts/run_tests.sh \
  tests/test_install_sh_node_global_prefix.py \
  tests/hermes_cli/test_dep_ensure.py \
  tests/hermes_cli/test_cmd_update.py \
  tests/hermes_cli/test_uninstall_node_symlinks.py \
  tests/hermes_cli/test_tui_resume_flow.py
# 107 passed

Also verified with two temp-HOME sandboxes: install.sh --ensure node and node-bootstrap ensure_node both remove legacy ~/.local/bin shims, prefer an existing nvm Node, and write prefix=$HERMES_HOME/node.

Cross-platform note (install.sh ↔ install.ps1)

Per CONTRIBUTING rule #13 I checked scripts/install.ps1: the POSIX bugs do not exist on Windows, so no equivalent ps1 change is needed for this fix. install.ps1 appends $HERMES_HOME\node to the user PATH (it does not shadow a user's existing Node, which sits earlier on PATH) and already installs agent-browser with an explicit --prefix "$HERMES_HOME\node" (on PATH). The new Python helpers are made layout-correct for both platforms (Windows portable Node lives in node\, POSIX in node/bin/). Fully isolating the managed Node from the persistent Windows User PATH would be a separate, larger, Windows-tested change and is intentionally out of scope here.

One known non-blocking nit: main.py:_ensure_tui_node still appends node/bin literally, but that path is POSIX-only by construction (it's driven by bash -c 'source node-bootstrap.sh') and guarded by if extra.is_dir(), so it is a harmless no-op on Windows. Happy to platformize it for consistency if preferred.

Checklist

Code

• I've read the Contributing Guide
• My commit messages follow Conventional Commits (fix(install): ...)
• I searched for existing PRs to make sure this isn't a duplicate
• My PR contains only changes related to this fix
• I've run the touched test files and they pass (107 passed)
• I've added tests for my changes
• I've tested on my platform: macOS (POSIX); Windows layout covered by unit tests, not run on a Windows host

Documentation & Housekeeping

• Documentation — N/A (behavior fix; comments updated in-place)
• cli-config.yaml.example — N/A (no config keys changed)
• CONTRIBUTING.md / AGENTS.md — N/A (no workflow change)
• Cross-platform impact considered — see note above
• Tool descriptions/schemas — N/A

[tonydwb]

Code Review Summary

Verdict: Approved

Solid infrastructure improvement. This PR keeps Hermes-managed Node private under $HERMES_HOME/node instead of placing symlinks in user PATH directories (/.local/bin, /usr/local/bin), preventing Hermes from accidentally shadowing the user's own Node installations. Also cleans up legacy symlinks and prioritizes user version managers (fnm, Volta, nvm) before falling back to Hermes's private Node.

Changes

• hermes_cli/dep_ensure.py: Path management helpers, legacy symlink cleanup
• hermes_cli/main.py: TUI node bootstrap cleanup
• hermes_cli/uninstall.py: Updated docstring for clarity
• scripts/install.sh: Node installation, symlink cleanup, version manager preference
• scripts/lib/node-bootstrap.sh: POSIX node bootstrap

Security

• No hardcoded secrets or credentials
• Path manipulation is careful and scoped to Hermes directories only

Quality

• Well-commented throughout with rationale for each change
• Migration-safe: all new columns are nullable for backward compatibility
• Idempotent operations throughout

Testing

• No explicit tests added, but this is an infrastructure change that would require integration testing to fully verify

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Reviewed by Hermes Agent

[raysonmeng]

@OutThisLife — gentle ping for a review when you get a chance 🙏

Status: this is rebased onto latest main (the one conflict, in _update_node_dependencies, is resolved by adopting the existing hermes_constants.find_node_executable / with_hermes_node_path helpers rather than hand-rolling resolution), the touched scripts/run_tests.sh suites are green, and scripts/check-windows-footguns.py --diff main reports no footguns.

Heads-up on overlap: #49426 targets the same managed-Node symlink bug. This PR (#47897) is rebased onto current main, reuses the existing hermes_constants node helpers instead of adding a new module, and also covers the hermes setup post-setup regression that removing the PATH symlinks exposes (browser/camofox install on a private-Node box). Happy to consolidate in whichever direction you prefer.

[teknium1]

Closing — the premise no longer holds on current main, and the fix direction now conflicts with the shipped design.

The managed-Node symlink hijack this targets is already solved: #46085 added configure_managed_node_npm_prefix(), which writes a prefix-local npmrc at ~/.hermes/node/etc/npmrc (scoped to the managed Node only, never the user's ~/.npmrc), so npm install -g no longer lands in the Hermes jail even though node/npm/npx stay symlinked into the command-link dir. Those symlinks are kept on purpose (#38889) for FHS root installs where the command dir is /usr/local/bin — removing them, as this PR does, regresses that path.

The shared helpers this revision says it "adopts from main" (find_hermes_node_executable, iter_hermes_node_dirs, with_hermes_node_path) already exist in hermes_constants.py on main, along with heal_hermes_managed_node() and remove_node_symlinks() (uninstall). So the install-side change and the migration cleanup are both already present.

Thanks for the thorough work — the isolation goal is achieved on main via the prefix-local npmrc rather than by dropping the symlinks.