hcengineering/platform · error · Error

Unable to create package.json: ${e}

Error message

Unable to create package.json: ${e}

What it means

_createPackageJson writes a minimal package.json (name "ci-rush", MIT license) into the package install folder so npm install can run there. A failure of writeFileSync — typically permission denied or the folder being read-only — is wrapped as this error.

Source

Thrown at foundations/communication/common/scripts/install-run.js:626

    }
}
function _createPackageJson(packageInstallFolder, name, version) {
    try {
        const packageJsonContents = {
            name: 'ci-rush',
            version: '0.0.0',
            dependencies: {
                [name]: version
            },
            description: "DON'T WARN",
            repository: "DON'T WARN",
            license: 'MIT'
        };
        const packageJsonPath = path__WEBPACK_IMPORTED_MODULE_3__.join(packageInstallFolder, PACKAGE_JSON_FILENAME);
        fs__WEBPACK_IMPORTED_MODULE_1__.writeFileSync(packageJsonPath, JSON.stringify(packageJsonContents, undefined, 2));
    }
    catch (e) {
        throw new Error(`Unable to create package.json: ${e}`);
    }
}
/**
 * Run "npm install" in the package install folder.
 */
function _installPackage(logger, packageInstallFolder, name, version, command) {
    try {
        logger.info(`Installing ${name}...`);
        const npmPath = getNpmPath();
        const platformNpmPath = _getPlatformPath(npmPath);
        const result = child_process__WEBPACK_IMPORTED_MODULE_0__.spawnSync(platformNpmPath, [command], {
            stdio: 'inherit',
            cwd: packageInstallFolder,
            env: process.env,
            shell: _isWindows()
        });
        if (result.status !== 0) {
            throw new Error(`"npm ${command}" encountered an error`);

View on GitHub (pinned to 63e28dc964)

Solutions

1. Ensure the process user can write to the package install folder (fix permissions or RUSH_TEMP_FOLDER).
2. Free disk space / raise quota if the disk is full.
3. Remove conflicting paths where package.json exists as a directory.
4. Prevent concurrent runs against the same install folder, then rerun.

Example fix

// before
node install-run.js pnpm@8 -- pnpm -v   # run as non-root in image with root-owned /home
// after
ENV HOME=/tmp/home && RUN mkdir -p /tmp/home && chmod 777 /tmp/home

const fs = require('fs');
fs.accessSync(installFolder, fs.constants.W_OK);
fs.statSync(installFolder).isDirectory() || (() => { throw new Error('install folder is not a directory'); })();

try { runInstall(); } catch (e) { if (/Unable to create package\.json/.test(e.message)) { console.error('Cannot write package.json in install folder; check permissions and disk space'); process.exit(1); } throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: writeFileSync of the package.json into packageInstallFolder throws: no write permission on the folder, disk full, path is actually a directory, or the folder was removed between creation and write.

Common situations: Running in a container as a non-root user without write access to the temp folder; disk quota exceeded on CI runners; another process deleting/locking the install folder mid-run; read-only home directory.

Related errors

• Error syncing .npmrc file: ${e}
• Error cleaning the package install folder (${packageInstallF
• The NPM executable does not exist
• Error building local installation folder (${path__WEBPACK_IM
• Unable to create installed.flag file in ${packageInstallFold

AI-assisted analysis of hcengineering/platform@63e28dc964 (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3cc38f908926876f. Report an issue: GitHub.