can1357/oh-my-pi · error · Error

npm install failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}

Error message

npm install failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}

What it means

Thrown when the self-update flow installs via npm (`npm install -g ...`) and the npm process exits non-zero. Like the bun variant, npm's diagnostic output is swallowed; only the exit code is reported. It indicates the target version could not be installed globally with npm.

Source

Thrown at packages/coding-agent/src/cli/update-cli.ts:1549

		if (pruneResult && pruneResult.removedEntries > 0) {
			console.log(chalk.dim(`Pruned ${pruneResult.removedEntries} stale Bun cache entries`));
		}
	} catch (err) {
		console.log(chalk.yellow(`Warning: could not prune stale Bun cache entries: ${err}`));
	}
	return verification;
}

async function updateViaNpm(release: ReleaseInfo): Promise<InstalledVersionVerification | undefined> {
	console.log(chalk.dim("Updating via npm..."));
	if (release.packages.pkg !== PACKAGE) {
		await migrateRenamedInstall(release, packageManagerMigrationSteps("npm", release));
		return undefined;
	}
	const args = buildNpmInstallArgs(release.version, currentNativeTag(), release.packages);
	const result = await $`npm ${args}`.nothrow();
	if (result.exitCode !== 0) {
		throw new Error(`npm install failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}`);
	}

	return await verifyInstalledVersion(release.version);
}
/** Injectable steps for {@link updateViaManager}; mirrors {@link RenameMigrationSteps}. */
export interface ManagerUpdateSteps {
	/** Manager name used in progress and recovery messages. */
	manager: string;
	/**
	 * Run the manager's global install. Resolves to the PATH-resolved launcher
	 * check, or `undefined` when a rename migration already verified and
	 * reported its own result.
	 */
	install(): Promise<InstalledVersionVerification | undefined>;
	/** Re-check the PATH-resolved launcher after the install threw. */
	verify(): Promise<InstalledVersionVerification>;
	/** Take `launcherPath` over with the standalone release binary. */
	repair(launcherPath: string): Promise<void>;

View on GitHub (pinned to 9690622007)

Solutions

1. Run the equivalent `npm install -g <pkg>@<version>` manually to see npm's actual error
2. Fix npm prefix permissions (use a user-owned prefix via nvm/volta, or `npm config set prefix`)
3. Verify registry access and that the version exists (`npm view <pkg>@<version>`)
4. Clear the npm cache (`npm cache clean --force`) if EINTEGRY/corruption errors appear
5. Update via a different method (bun, brew, or the standalone binary installer)

Example fix

// before
const result = await $`npm ${args}`.nothrow();
if (result.exitCode !== 0) {
	throw new Error(`npm install failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}`);
}
// after
const result = await $`npm ${args}`.nothrow();
if (result.exitCode !== 0) {
	throw new Error(`npm install failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}: ${result.stderr.text()}`);
}

const probe = await $`npm ping`.nothrow();
if (probe.exitCode !== 0) throw new Error("npm registry unreachable; fix network before update");

function npmInstallSucceeded(r: { exitCode: number }): r is { exitCode: 0 } {
	return r.exitCode === 0;
}

try {
	await updateSelf();
} catch (err) {
	if (err.message.startsWith("npm install failed")) {
		// check npm prefix perms / registry, rerun `npm install -g <pkg>@<ver>` manually
	} else throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running self-update on an npm-managed install when `npm <install args>` fails — registry unreachable (EACCES on the global node_modules prefix, 404 for the version, network timeout, or npm not on PATH is caught earlier).

Common situations: npm global prefix requires sudo (common with system Node installs); corporate proxy/registry mirror missing the package version; npm cache corruption; disk full.

Related errors

• bun install failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}
• ${steps.manager} update did not produce a working launcher a
• brew update failed with exit code ${update.exitCode}
• brew ${args[0]} failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}
• mise upgrade failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}

AI-assisted analysis of can1357/oh-my-pi@9690622007 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6c4588e2e5967472. Report an issue: GitHub.