[npm] Dependencies of optionalDependencies are not installed

[t2ym]

[npm] Dependencies of optionalDependencies are not installed

Root Cause

• Npm says dependencies of file:folder references are not installed but just symlinks to the file:folder packages are created AS DESIGNED
• This behavior is different in NPM 6

Workarounds

• OPTION # 1: Use npm version 6 and perform npm i twice
• OPTION # 2: Use a tgz package file instead of thin-hook package on the repo as follows:
  • Note: This behavior may change in the future npm

cd $PROJECTDIRECTORY
rm -v thin-hook-*.tgz # clean up archives
npm pack thin-hook # create the latest archive such as thin-hook-0.4.0-alpha.57.tgz
npm i thin-hook-*.tgz # install from the tgz archive
npm i # install optionalDependencies and dependencies of the optionalDependencies
rm -v thin-hook-*.tgz # clean up archives

• OPTION # 3: Install as a tgz package via package.json scripts
  • Notes
    • --save-optional avoids errors at the first installation
    • In postinstall script, npm i is called recursively once

{
  "scripts": {
    "preinstall": "if [ ! -f thin-hook-0.4.0-alpha.57.tgz ]; then npm pack [email protected]; fi",
    "postinstall": "if [ ! -f node_modules/thin-hook/package.json ]; then npm i --save-optional thin-hook-0.4.0-alpha.57.tgz; npm i; else if [ ! -f node_modules/reportage/package.json ]; then npm i; fi; fi",
  },
}

• OPTION # 4: Copy nested plugin dependencies explicitly after npm i thin-hook@^0.4.0-alpha.57 --install-links=true
  • Notes:
    • npm i again since package-lock.json is (strangely) inconsistent after the npm i thin-hook@^0.4.0-alpha.57 --install-links=true installation
    • Verified with [email protected]
    • If npm i --install-links=true is executed without the explicit thin-hook package name, the plugins are unexpectedly installed at node_modules/thin-hook/node_modules/@thin-hook/* instead of the expected node_modules/@thin-hook/*, which is the reason why the explicit package name is required
    • There is, of course, another option that the nested dependencies are copied from node_modules/thin-hook/node_modules/@thin-hook/*/node_modules instead of node_modules/@thin-hook/*/node_modules.
    • As of 0.4.0-alpha.57, the plugin with any nested dependencies that have to be explicitly copied is only @thin-hook/injector-helpers

{
  "scripts": {
    "preinstall": "if [ ! -f node_modules/reportage/package.json ]; then npm i [email protected] --install-links=true; fi",
    "install": "cd node_modules/@thin-hook/; for i in *; do { if [ -d $i/node_modules ] && [ ! -d ../thin-hook/plugins/$i/node_modules ]; then cp -rv $i/node_modules ../thin-hook/plugins/$i/; fi; } done;",
    "postinstall": "grep '\"resolved\": \"file:node_modules/thin-hook/plugins/about-blank-redirector\"' package-lock.json; if [ \"$?\" = \"0\" ]; then npm i; fi",
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "thin-hook": "0.4.0-alpha.57"
  }
}