npm install of this project fails in a weird way

[daidoji]

To Reproduce

I create this package.json

{
  "name": "foo",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
  },
  "author": "",
  "license": "ISC",
  "description": "",
  "dependencies": {
    "signify-polaris-web": "github:WebOfTrust/polaris-web"
  }
}

Then I run npm install of that project. Then I try and import anything from that package and it fails. Leading to discovering this:

daidoji@LAPTOP-5KEUASIG:~/foo$ tree node_modules/
node_modules/
└── signify-polaris-web
    ├── LICENSE
    ├── README.md
    └── package.json

1 directory, 3 files

All the files aren't being produced in this package for some reason in npm. @lenkan points out in the vlei-developers meeting that: In this PR https://github.com/WebOfTrust/polaris-web/pull/26/files#diff-7ae45ad102eab3b6d7e7896acd08c427a9b25b346470d7bc6507b6481575d519L12 the package was changed so that it possibly no longer builds as it builds in a post-install script.

This issue is to track this in case anyone else runs into this in the future. Two more logs attached for extra information.

daidoji@LAPTOP-5KEUASIG:~/foo$ npm install --verbose                                                                                                                                        npm verbose cli /home/daidoji/.nvm/versions/node/v21.5.0/bin/node /home/daidoji/.nvm/versions/node/v21.5.0/bin/npm                                                                          npm info using [email protected]                                                                                                                                                                   npm info using [email protected]                                                                                                                                                                 npm verbose title npm install                                                                                                                                                               npm verbose argv "install" "--loglevel" "verbose"                                                                                                                                           npm verbose logfile logs-max:10 dir:/home/daidoji/.npm/_logs/2024-11-19T16_52_53_755Z-                                                                                                      npm verbose logfile /home/daidoji/.npm/_logs/2024-11-19T16_52_53_755Z-debug-0.log                                                                                                           npm http fetch POST 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/-/npm/v1/security/advisories/bulk 263ms                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              up to date, audited 2 packages in 722ms                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 found 0 vulnerabilities                                                                                                                                                                     npm verbose cwd /home/daidoji/foo                                                                                                                                                           npm verbose os Linux 5.15.167.4-microsoft-standard-WSL2                                                                                                                                     npm verbose node v21.5.0                                                                                                                                                                    npm verbose npm  v10.9.0                                                                                                                                                                    npm verbose exit 0                                                                                                                                                                          npm info ok                                                                                                                                                                                 daidoji@LAPTOP-5KEUASIG:~/foo$ rm -r node_modules/                                                                                                                                          daidoji@LAPTOP-5KEUASIG:~/foo$ npm install --verbose                                                                                                                                        npm verbose cli /home/daidoji/.nvm/versions/node/v21.5.0/bin/node /home/daidoji/.nvm/versions/node/v21.5.0/bin/npm                                                                          npm info using [email protected]                                                                                                                                                                   npm info using [email protected]
npm verbose title npm install
npm verbose argv "install" "--loglevel" "verbose"
npm verbose logfile logs-max:10 dir:/home/daidoji/.npm/_logs/2024-11-19T16_53_13_677Z-
npm verbose logfile /home/daidoji/.npm/_logs/2024-11-19T16_53_13_677Z-debug-0.log
npm http fetch POST 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/-/npm/v1/security/advisories/bulk 282ms
npm http fetch GET 200 https://codeload.github.com/WebOfTrust/polaris-web/tar.gz/74be1c3ba361c3c7c49d7cc083abaa90a5dea1b0 224ms (cache revalidated)

added 1 package, and audited 2 packages in 10s

found 0 vulnerabilities
npm verbose cwd /home/daidoji/foo
npm verbose os Linux 5.15.167.4-microsoft-standard-WSL2
npm verbose node v21.5.0
npm verbose npm  v10.9.0
npm verbose exit 0
npm info ok

daidoji@LAPTOP-5KEUASIG:~/foo$ cat /home/daidoji/.npm/_logs/2024-11-19T16_53_13_677Z-debug-0.log
0 verbose cli /home/daidoji/.nvm/versions/node/v21.5.0/bin/node /home/daidoji/.nvm/versions/node/v21.5.0/bin/npm
1 info using [email protected]
2 info using [email protected]
3 silly config load:file:/home/daidoji/.nvm/versions/node/v21.5.0/lib/node_modules/npm/npmrc
4 silly config load:file:/home/daidoji/foo/.npmrc
5 silly config load:file:/home/daidoji/.npmrc
6 silly config load:file:/home/daidoji/.nvm/versions/node/v21.5.0/etc/npmrc
7 verbose title npm install
8 verbose argv "install" "--loglevel" "verbose"
9 verbose logfile logs-max:10 dir:/home/daidoji/.npm/_logs/2024-11-19T16_53_13_677Z-
10 verbose logfile /home/daidoji/.npm/_logs/2024-11-19T16_53_13_677Z-debug-0.log
11 silly logfile start cleaning logs, removing 1 files
12 silly packumentCache heap:2197815296 maxSize:549453824 maxEntrySize:274726912
13 silly logfile done cleaning log files
14 silly idealTree buildDeps
15 silly reify moves {}
16 silly audit bulk request { 'signify-polaris-web': [ '1.0.2' ] }
17 http fetch POST 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/-/npm/v1/security/advisories/bulk 282ms
18 silly audit report {}
19 http fetch GET 200 https://codeload.github.com/WebOfTrust/polaris-web/tar.gz/74be1c3ba361c3c7c49d7cc083abaa90a5dea1b0 224ms (cache revalidated)
20 silly packumentCache heap:2197815296 maxSize:549453824 maxEntrySize:274726912
21 silly ADD node_modules/signify-polaris-web
22 verbose cwd /home/daidoji/foo
23 verbose os Linux 5.15.167.4-microsoft-standard-WSL2
24 verbose node v21.5.0
25 verbose npm  v10.9.0
26 verbose exit 0
27 info ok

[edeykholt]

I think I'm running into the same issue when trying to add a dependency in the KERI Auth browser extension so I can use its types/interfaces. What I think is going on follows:

Issues Encountered:

1. dist Directory Missing After Installation:
   When installing the package directly from GitHub (e.g., using "signify-polaris-web": "github:weboftrust/polaris-web#main" in my package.json), the dist directory is not present in the node_modules folder. This prevents TypeScript files and interfaces from being imported correctly.

   Cause: The prepare script in the package.json currently runs husky but does not trigger a build process. As a result, the project is not built during installation.

2. Manual Steps Required for Consumption:
   Currently, consumers may need to clone the repository, build it manually, or add workarounds in their own project to use polaris-web.

---

Suggestions for Improvement:

1. Update the prepare Script to Build Automatically:
   Modify the prepare script to include a build step so that the dist directory is created during installation. For example:

   "scripts": {
     "prepare": "husky && npm run build"
   }