hcengineering/platform · error

Unable to install package: ${e}

Error message

Unable to install package: ${e}

What it means

install-run.js's installAndRun flow runs an npm command (e.g. `npm install <name>@<version>`) into Rush's common temp folder and throws this error when the npm process exits with a failure or the install throws for any reason. The original error text is appended to the message, so the root cause is embedded after the colon.

Source

Thrown at foundations/net/common/scripts/install-run.js:649

 */
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`);
        }
        logger.info(`Successfully installed ${name}@${version}`);
    }
    catch (e) {
        throw new Error(`Unable to install package: ${e}`);
    }
}
/**
 * Get the ".bin" path for the package.
 */
function _getBinPath(packageInstallFolder, binName) {
    const binFolderPath = path__WEBPACK_IMPORTED_MODULE_3__.resolve(packageInstallFolder, NODE_MODULES_FOLDER_NAME, '.bin');
    const resolvedBinName = _isWindows() ? `${binName}.cmd` : binName;
    return path__WEBPACK_IMPORTED_MODULE_3__.resolve(binFolderPath, resolvedBinName);
}
/**
 * Returns a cross-platform path - windows must enclose any path containing spaces within double quotes.
 */
function _getPlatformPath(platformPath) {
    return _isWindows() && platformPath.includes(' ') ? `"${platformPath}"` : platformPath;
}
function _isWindows() {
    return os__WEBPACK_IMPORTED_MODULE_2__.platform() === 'win32';

View on GitHub (pinned to 63e28dc964)

Solutions

1. Read the full error message after the colon to find the underlying npm error, and re-run the npm command manually to reproduce it.
2. Check network/proxy access to the npm registry (npm ping, or configure proxy/registry in .npmrc).
3. Verify the requested package@version exists and the specifier is valid.
4. Clear the rush temp install folder and retry so npm gets a clean state.
5. Ensure node and npm are on PATH and compatible versions.

Example fix

// before (offline CI, no proxy configured)
node common/scripts/install-run-rush.js 5.100.0 install
// after: set proxy/registry so npm can install
export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy.corp:8080
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://proxy.corp:8080
node common/scripts/install-run-rush.js 5.100.0 install

const { execSync } = require('child_process');
function canInstall() {
  try { execSync('npm ping', { stdio: 'ignore' }); return true; } catch { return false; }
}

try {
  await runInstallRunScript(args);
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e.message).startsWith('Unable to install package')) {
    // surface the underlying npm cause after the colon
    console.error('npm install failed:', e.message.replace('Unable to install package: ', ''));
    process.exit(1);
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Any invocation of install-run.js / install-run-rush.js shim scripts (e.g. `node common/scripts/install-run-rush.js <version>`) where the underlying `npm install` returns a non-zero status, or where npm itself fails to spawn/execute (network failure, bad version specifier, npm not on PATH).

Common situations: Corporate proxies or offline environments blocking registry access; specifying a package version that doesn't exist; corrupted or read-only rush temp folder (~/.rush); npm/node version mismatch; firewall blocking registry.npmjs.org.

Related errors

• "npm ${command}" encountered an error
• Unable to install package: ${e}
• Unable to create installed.flag file in ${packageInstallFold
• Unable to determine the required version of Rush from ${RUSH
• Unexpected exception: could not detect node path or script p

AI-assisted analysis of hcengineering/platform@63e28dc964 (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/43cd40ebc52f4a5c. Report an issue: GitHub.