Unitech/pm2 · error · Error

npm or bun is required to uninstall OpenTelemetry packages

Error message

npm or bun is required to uninstall OpenTelemetry packages

What it means

Mirror of the install guard: OtelManager.uninstall() needs npm or bun to run `npm remove` / `bun remove` on the OTel packages. If neither package manager is found on PATH, it cannot perform the removal and throws.

Source

Thrown at lib/OtelManager.js:48

  },

  install: function() {
    var pm = which('npm') ? 'npm' : which('bun') ? 'bun' : null
    if (!pm) {
      throw new Error('npm or bun is required to install OpenTelemetry packages')
    }
    Common.printOut(cst.PREFIX_MSG + 'Installing OpenTelemetry tracing packages...')
    execSync(pm + ' install --no-save ' + OTEL_PACKAGES.join(' '), {
      cwd: PM2_ROOT,
      stdio: 'inherit'
    })
    Common.printOut(cst.PREFIX_MSG + 'OpenTelemetry tracing packages installed successfully')
  },

  uninstall: function() {
    var pm = which('npm') ? 'npm' : which('bun') ? 'bun' : null
    if (!pm) {
      throw new Error('npm or bun is required to uninstall OpenTelemetry packages')
    }
    Common.printOut(cst.PREFIX_MSG + 'Removing OpenTelemetry tracing packages...')
    execSync(pm + ' remove --no-save ' + OTEL_PACKAGES.join(' '), {
      cwd: PM2_ROOT,
      stdio: 'inherit'
    })
    Common.printOut(cst.PREFIX_MSG + 'OpenTelemetry tracing packages removed')
  },

  ensureInstalled: function() {
    if (this.isInstalled()) return true
    try {
      this.install()
      return true
    } catch(e) {
      Common.printError(cst.PREFIX_MSG_ERR + 'Failed to install OpenTelemetry packages: ' + e.message)
      Common.printError(cst.PREFIX_MSG_ERR + 'Install manually with: pm2 install-otel')
      return false

View on GitHub (pinned to 31adee8048)

Solutions

Install npm or bun and ensure it is on PATH, then retry the uninstall.
Alternatively remove the packages manually from the PM2 root node_modules.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const which = require('which');
const pm = which('npm', { nothrow: true }) || which('bun', { nothrow: true });
if (!pm) throw new Error('Cannot remove OTel packages: install npm or bun first');

Prevention

Keep a package manager available on PATH for the daemon's lifetime, not just install time.
If none is available, remove the OTel packages from node_modules manually.

When it happens

Trigger: Disabling/removing OTel tracing in an environment where neither npm nor bun is on PATH.

Common situations: Same as install — minimal images, standalone node binaries, daemon PATH without a package manager.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of Unitech/pm2@31adee8048 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bcd8b055d375c648. Report an issue: GitHub.