fix(ci): drop redundant better-sqlite3 rebuild in CLI Linux build

[saddlepaddle]

Why

The cli-v0.2.4 release just bricked on linux-x64 (run 25340826401) at the Install dependencies (Linux) step:

npm error path .../node_modules/.bun/better-sqlite3@12.6.2/.../better-sqlite3
npm error command failed
npm error command sh -c prebuild-install || node-gyp rebuild --release
npm error prebuild-install warn install ENOENT: ...build/Release/better_sqlite3.node
npm error gyp: ...build/config.gypi not found while reading includes of binding.gyp
npm error gyp ERR! configure error
npm error gyp ERR! stack Error: `gyp` failed with exit code: 1

Same step has bricked before with a different mode each time:

tag	mode
cli-v0.2.4	prebuild-install ENOENT then gyp config.gypi missing
cli-v0.2.2	prebuild-install file too short then gyp EEXIST on python3 symlink
cli-v0.2.3	succeeded
cli-v0.2.1 / 0.2.0	succeeded

prebuild-install is intermittently mis-extracting / failing the download, and when it falls through to node-gyp rebuild --release the leftover state breaks the gyp run.

What changes

Remove npm rebuild better-sqlite3 from the Linux install step. It was redundant: packages/cli/scripts/build-dist.ts:282-297 (fixNativeBinariesForNode) already does

const bsqUrl =
  `https://github.com/WiseLibs/better-sqlite3/releases/download/` +
  `v${bsqVersion}/better-sqlite3-v${bsqVersion}-node-v${NODE_ABI}-${target}.tar.gz`;
...
rmSync(bsqDest, { recursive: true, force: true });
mkdirSync(bsqDest, { recursive: true });
cpSync(join(tmp, "build", "Release", "better_sqlite3.node"), join(bsqDest, "better_sqlite3.node"));

— it unconditionally fetches the Node-ABI prebuild from GitHub releases and overwrites lib/node_modules/better-sqlite3/build/Release/better_sqlite3.node in the dist. Whatever npm rebuild produced was just thrown away.

node-pty rebuild stays (no Linux prebuilds ship in the npm package — node-pty really is compiled from source). @parcel/watcher rebuild also stays for now (haven't seen it flake; out of scope).

Test plan

• CI green on this PR (Linux build invoked via build-cli.yml from ci.yml)
• After merge, retry the CLI release — re-cut a release PR + push the tag, or temporarily run release-cli.yml via workflow_dispatch on main to verify all three matrix targets land artifacts
• Confirm the smoke-test require('better-sqlite3') still passes against the bundled Node — that's what proves fixNativeBinariesForNode's GitHub fetch produced a usable binary

---

Summary by cubic

Remove npm rebuild better-sqlite3 from the CLI Linux build to stop flaky linux-x64 failures. The dist step already fetches and overwrites the correct better-sqlite3 prebuild via fixNativeBinariesForNode().

• Bug Fixes
  • Dropped the redundant better-sqlite3 rebuild that triggered intermittent prebuild-install/node-gyp errors.
  • Kept node-pty and @parcel/watcher rebuilds; node-pty requires source build on Linux and watcher remains unchanged.

^{Written for commit a71b7dc. Summary will update on new commits.}

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Chores
  • Improved Linux build process stability by optimizing dependency installation and native module compilation, reducing CI build failures on Linux systems.

[coderabbitai]

Caution

Review failed

The pull request is closed.

ℹ️ Recent review info

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Configuration used: defaults

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 5a66dcf9-3848-44b6-8b6b-90f714aca29b

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 07d28b7 and a71b7dc.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• .github/workflows/build-cli.yml

---

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The Linux dependency-install step in the CLI build workflow now uses bun install --frozen --ignore-scripts followed by selective node-gyp rebuilds of node-pty, removing the unconditional npm rebuild better-sqlite3. Comments clarify that better-sqlite3 rebuilding is intentionally deferred to build-dist.ts and that the previous approach caused CI flakes.

Changes

CLI Build Workflow Optimization

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Dependency Installation & Selective Rebuilds .github/workflows/build-cli.yml	Replaces unconditional npm rebuild better-sqlite3 with bun install --frozen --ignore-scripts and explicit node-gyp rebuild for node-pty. Adds explanatory comments documenting that better-sqlite3 rebuilding is deferred to build-dist.ts (which handles Node-ABI prebuild downloads) and that prior unconditional rebuilds were a CI flake source on Linux. Includes set -euo pipefail safeguard.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~5 minutes

Poem

🐰 A rabbit's tale of CI made bright,
No flakes on Linux, builds run tight,
Better-sqlite waits its proper turn,
While node-pty rebuilds—now we learn!
Comments guide us, step by step,
This workflow's fixed with careful prep. 🏗️

✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch fix/cli-linux-x64-better-sqlite3-rebuild

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[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

Removes the npm rebuild better-sqlite3 step from the Linux CI install step, which was both redundant and a flake source. The fixNativeBinariesForNode() function in build-dist.ts already unconditionally fetches the correct Node-ABI prebuild from GitHub releases and overwrites the binary, so anything produced by the rebuild was discarded anyway. The existing smoke test (require('better-sqlite3')) provides a safety net confirming the final binary still loads correctly.

Confidence Score: 5/5

Safe to merge — the removed step was provably redundant and the smoke test validates the resulting binary.

Single-line deletion with thorough justification backed by the source code of fixNativeBinariesForNode(). The existing smoke test exercises require('better-sqlite3') post-build, providing a direct regression guard. No logic changes, only CI workflow cleanup.

No files require special attention.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
.github/workflows/build-cli.yml	Removes the redundant npm rebuild better-sqlite3 step from the Linux install and adds detailed comments explaining why it was redundant; all other rebuilds remain intact.

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant CI as GitHub Actions (Linux)
    participant Bun as bun install
    participant NPM as npm rebuild
    participant Script as build-dist.ts fixNativeBinariesForNode()
    participant GH as GitHub Releases

    CI->>Bun: bun install --frozen --ignore-scripts
    Bun-->>CI: deps installed (scripts skipped)
    CI->>NPM: npx node-gyp rebuild (node-pty)
    NPM-->>CI: node-pty.node compiled
    note over CI,NPM: better-sqlite3 rebuild REMOVED (was redundant + flaky)
    CI->>NPM: npm rebuild @parcel/watcher
    NPM-->>CI: watcher.node compiled
    CI->>Script: bun run build:dist
    Script->>GH: curl better-sqlite3 Node-ABI tarball
    GH-->>Script: better_sqlite3.node prebuild
    Script->>Script: overwrite lib/node_modules/better-sqlite3/build/Release/
    Script-->>CI: dist/ artifact ready
    CI->>CI: Smoke test: require('better-sqlite3') OK

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