paperclipai/paperclip · error

npm install failed for ${spec}: ${String(err)}

Error message

npm install failed for ${spec}: ${String(err)}

What it means

The child npm install process (run with execFile, --ignore-scripts) exited with an error while fetching the plugin package spec into the target install dir; the message embeds the underlying npm stderr/stdout as the cause.

Source

Thrown at server/src/services/plugin-loader.ts:1245

      // npm install
      const spec = version ? `${packageName}@${version}` : packageName!;

      log.info(
        { spec, installDir: targetInstallDir },
        "plugin-loader: fetching plugin from npm",
      );

      try {
        // Use execFile (not exec) to avoid shell injection from package name/version.
        // --ignore-scripts prevents preinstall/install/postinstall hooks from
        // executing arbitrary code on the host before manifest validation.
        await execFileAsync(
          "npm",
          ["install", spec, "--prefix", targetInstallDir, "--save", "--ignore-scripts"],
          { timeout: 120_000 }, // 2 minute timeout for npm install
        );
      } catch (err) {
        throw new Error(`npm install failed for ${spec}: ${String(err)}`);
      }

      // Resolve the package path after installation
      const nodeModulesPath = path.join(targetInstallDir, "node_modules");
      resolvedPackageName = packageName!;

      // Handle scoped packages
      if (resolvedPackageName.startsWith("@")) {
        const [scope, name] = resolvedPackageName.split("/");
        resolvedPackagePath = path.join(nodeModulesPath, scope!, name!);
      } else {
        resolvedPackagePath = path.join(nodeModulesPath, resolvedPackageName);
      }

      if (!existsSync(resolvedPackagePath)) {
        throw new Error(
          `Package directory not found after installation: ${resolvedPackagePath}`,
        );

View on GitHub (pinned to 120ae5428f)

Solutions

1. Fix the npm install failure: verify the package spec exists, the registry is reachable, and credentials are configured; see the included error for details.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at server/src/services/plugin-loader.ts:1245 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@120ae5428f (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4e3a3ed898ab9668. Report an issue: GitHub.