nikivdev/code · error · anyhow::Error

bun or npm is required to run docs hub dev server

Error message

bun or npm is required to run docs hub dev server

What it means

run_docs_hub_dev bails when neither bun nor npm is available to launch the docs hub dev server (Next.js-style `dev` command). The function must spawn the server via bun or npm; with neither on PATH it cannot start the process and returns this error.

Source

Thrown at src/docs.rs:579

            &host_arg,
        ]);
        cmd
    } else if which("npm").is_ok() {
        let port_arg = port.to_string();
        let host_arg = host.to_string();
        let mut cmd = Command::new("npm");
        cmd.args([
            "run",
            "dev",
            "--",
            "--port",
            &port_arg,
            "--hostname",
            &host_arg,
        ]);
        cmd
    } else {
        bail!("bun or npm is required to run docs hub dev server");
    };

    let mut child = cmd
        .current_dir(hub_root)
        .stdout(std::process::Stdio::inherit())
        .stderr(std::process::Stdio::inherit())
        .spawn()
        .context("failed to start docs hub dev server")?;

    if !no_open {
        let url = format!("http://{}:{}", host, port);
        wait_for_port(host, port, std::time::Duration::from_secs(10));
        open_in_browser(&url);
    }

    let status = child.wait().context("failed to wait on docs hub")?;
    if !status.success() {
        bail!("docs hub dev server exited with error");

View on GitHub (pinned to a747e741ae)

Solutions

1. Install bun or npm and put it on PATH before running the hub dev command
2. Set PATH in the launching environment (systemd Environment=, cron PATH=, wrapper script)
3. If using nvm/fnm/volta, initialize it in the profile that launches the tool, or symlink the binaries to /usr/local/bin
4. Confirm availability: `which bun || which npm`

Example fix

// before
$ mytool docs hub dev
Error: bun or npm is required to run docs hub dev server
// after
$ export PATH="$HOME/.bun/bin:$PATH"
$ mytool docs hub dev
ready on http://127.0.0.1:4410

let has_runner = which::which("bun").is_ok() || which::which("npm").is_ok();
if !has_runner {
    eprintln!("dev server needs bun or npm on PATH; install one first");
    return;
}
run_docs_hub(&opts)?;

match run_docs_hub(&opts) {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("required to run docs hub dev server") => {
        eprintln!("install bun or npm and re-run; check PATH for daemon launches");
    }
    Err(e) => return Err(e),
    Ok(()) => {}
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling run_docs_hub with dev-server options on a host where `which("bun")` and `which("npm")` both fail — no JavaScript runtime installed, or PATH does not include the user's node/bun installation.

Common situations: Server without Node tooling; tool spawned from systemd/cron/GUI with minimal PATH; nvm not initialized in non-login shells; recently switched machines without reinstalling bun.

Related errors

• bun or npm is required to install docs hub dependencies
• {} failed
• docs hub dev server exited with error
• bun, npx, or npm is required to run wrangler
• handled before project context load

AI-assisted analysis of nikivdev/code@a747e741ae (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/33eb699c461e2aae. Report an issue: GitHub.