What causes "${missing} not found. Cannot auto-install iii-engine." in rohitg00/agentmemory?

Install the missing tools: e.g. `apt-get install -y curl tar` (or apk equivalent); sh is almost always present on Unix.

${missing} not found. Cannot auto-install iii-engine.

Error message

${missing} not found. Cannot auto-install iii-engine.

What it means

Before auto-installing iii-engine on non-Windows systems, runIiiInstaller requires three system tools: sh, curl, and tar (used to download and extract the release archive). If any is absent, it lists exactly which ones are missing and warns that iii-engine cannot be auto-installed, returning failure without downloading anything.

Source

Thrown at src/cli.ts:1398

  if (IS_WINDOWS || isZipAsset) {
    p.log.info(
      `Auto-install unavailable on ${platform()} — ${asset} isn't tar-compatible. Install manually:\n` +
        `  1. Download ${releaseUrl}\n` +
        `  2. Extract iii.exe and place it on PATH (e.g. %USERPROFILE%\\.local\\bin)\n` +
        `Or use Docker: docker pull iiidev/iii:${IIPINNED_VERSION}`,
    );
    return { ok: false, binPath: null };
  }

  const shBin = whichBinary("sh");
  const curlBin = whichBinary("curl");
  const tarBin = whichBinary("tar");
  if (!shBin || !curlBin || !tarBin) {
    const missing = [!shBin && "sh", !curlBin && "curl", !tarBin && "tar"]
      .filter(Boolean)
      .join(", ");
    p.log.warn(`${missing} not found. Cannot auto-install iii-engine.`);
    return { ok: false, binPath: null };
  }

  const binDir = agentmemoryBinDir();
  const binPath = privateIiiPath();
  const installCmd = [
    `mkdir -p "${binDir}"`,
    `curl -fsSL "${releaseUrl}" | tar -xz -C "${binDir}"`,
    `chmod +x "${binPath}"`,
  ].join(" && ");
  const installerOk = runCommand(shBin, ["-c", installCmd], {
    label: `Installing iii-engine v${IIPINNED_VERSION} (pinned)`,
    optional: true,
  });
  if (!installerOk) {
    p.log.warn(
      `iii-engine installer failed. Fallbacks: Docker (\`docker pull iiidev/iii:${IIPINNED_VERSION}\`) or download manually from https://github.com/iii-hq/iii/releases/tag/iii%2Fv${IIPINNED_VERSION}.`,
    );

View on GitHub (pinned to e04ba88819)

Solutions

Install the missing tools: e.g. `apt-get install -y curl tar` (or apk equivalent); sh is almost always present on Unix.
Run the CLI from a fuller base image or standard shell environment.
Install iii-engine manually (Docker `docker pull iiidev/iii:<pinned>` or download the release binary) so auto-install is skipped.
Fix the PATH so the tools already installed are discoverable (`which tar` should succeed).

Example fix

// before: tar missing in slim image
$ docker run node:alpine agentmemory start  # tar not found
// after
$ RUN apk add --no-cache curl tar  # then re-run agentmemory start

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

import { execFileSync } from "node:child_process";
const missing = ["sh", "curl", "tar"].filter((b) => {
  try { execFileSync("which", [b], { stdio: "ignore" }); return false; } catch { return true; }
});
if (missing.length) console.error(`Pre-install: apt-get install -y ${missing.join(" ")}`);

Prevention

Use standard base images (not scratch/distroless) for anything running the CLI.
Add curl and tar to your Dockerfile if the image lacks them.
Do not strip /usr/bin utilities in hardened images used for dev tooling.
Confirm PATH includes standard binary dirs.

When it happens

Trigger: Auto-install path runs and whichBinary returns null for sh, curl, or tar — e.g. distroless/minimal containers lacking tar or curl, or Windows-like environments without sh reaching this path.

Common situations: Scratch/Docker images built without coreutils/tar; CI runners with stripped images; tampered PATH excluding /usr/bin; security-hardened containers dropping shell utilities.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of rohitg00/agentmemory@e04ba88819 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e73e3e222230c46f. Report an issue: GitHub.