fix(cli): keep sudo-required npm installs on npm instead of migrating to standalone

packages/cli/src/utils/installationInfo.test.ts

@@ -597,4 +597,31 @@ describe('getInstallationInfo', () => {
     const infoDisabled = getInstallationInfo(projectRoot, false);
     expect(infoDisabled.updateMessage).toContain('Please run npm install');
   });
+
+  it('should ask for sudo and NOT migrate to standalone when the npm global prefix is not writable', () => {
+    const globalPath = `/usr/lib/node_modules/@qwen-code/qwen-code/cli-entry.js`;
+    process.argv[1] = globalPath;
+    mockedRealPathSync.mockReturnValue(globalPath);
+    mockedExecSync.mockImplementation(() => {
+      throw new Error('Command failed');
+    });
+    // npm global package dir is not writable -> `npm install -g` would need sudo.
+    vi.mocked(fs.accessSync).mockImplementation(() => {
+      throw Object.assign(new Error('EACCES: permission denied'), {
+        code: 'EACCES',
+      });
+    });
+
+    const info = getInstallationInfo(projectRoot, true);
+
+    expect(info.packageManager).toBe(PackageManager.NPM);
+    expect(info.isGlobal).toBe(true);
+    // Must NOT silently migrate to the standalone installer (bundled Node can be
+    // incompatible with the host, e.g. an older glibc).
+    expect(info.isStandalone).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(info.standaloneDir).toBeUndefined();
+    // No updateCommand -> the auto-updater won't attempt an unattended sudo.
+    expect(info.updateCommand).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(info.updateMessage).toContain('sudo');
+  });
 });

packages/cli/src/utils/installationInfo.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 
 import { createDebugLogger, isGitRepository } from '@qwen-code/qwen-code-core';
 import * as fs from 'node:fs';
-import * as os from 'node:os';
 import * as path from 'node:path';
 import * as childProcess from 'node:child_process';
 
@@ -177,7 +176,8 @@ export function getInstallationInfo(
       };
     }
 
-    // Check if the package directory is writable to determine whether npm update requires sudo
+    // Check if the npm global package directory is writable to determine
+    // whether `npm install -g` would require sudo.
     const npmPackageDir = path.dirname(path.dirname(realPath));
     let npmPrefixWritable = false;
     try {
@@ -187,32 +187,18 @@ export function getInstallationInfo(
       // Not writable (e.g., /usr/local/lib/node_modules owned by root)
     }
 
-    if (!npmPrefixWritable && isAutoUpdateEnabled) {
-      // npm prefix requires sudo — fall back to standalone update path
-      // which installs to ~/.local/lib/qwen-code/ (user-writable)
-      const installRoot = process.env['HOME'] || os.homedir();
-      if (!installRoot || installRoot === '/') {
-        // Cannot determine a safe user-writable location; skip migration
-        return {
-          packageManager: PackageManager.NPM,
-          isGlobal: true,
-          updateMessage:
-            'Update requires sudo. Run: sudo npm install -g @qwen-code/qwen-code@latest',
-        };
-      }
-      const fallbackStandaloneDir = path.join(
-        installRoot,
-        '.local',
-        'lib',
-        'qwen-code',
-      );
+    if (!npmPrefixWritable) {
+      // The npm global prefix requires sudo. Do NOT silently migrate to the
+      // standalone installer here: that swaps in a bundled Node runtime which
+      // can be incompatible with the host (e.g. an older glibc), breaking users
+      // who were updating fine via npm. Keep npm installs on npm and ask the
+      // user to update with sudo instead. No updateCommand is returned so the
+      // auto-updater does not attempt an unattended sudo.
       return {
         packageManager: PackageManager.NPM,
         isGlobal: true,
-        isStandalone: true,
-        standaloneDir: fallbackStandaloneDir,
         updateMessage:
-          'npm install requires sudo. Migrating to standalone installer for automatic updates.',
+          'Update requires sudo. Please run: sudo npm install -g @qwen-code/qwen-code@latest',
       };
     }