[Pkg-javascript-devel] Bug#756607: npm: Confusing error with binary node modules

[Matthijs Kooijman]

Package: npm
Version: 1.4.21+ds-1
Severity: normal

Dear maintainer,

when installing the serialport package through npm, I get the following
messages:

matthijs at grubby:~$ npm install -g serialport
/home/matthijs/.node_modules/bin/serialportterm -> /home/matthijs/.node_modules/lib/node_modules/serialport/bin/serialportTerminal.js
/home/matthijs/.node_modules/bin/serialportlist -> /home/matthijs/.node_modules/lib/node_modules/serialport/bin/serialportList.js

> serialport at 1.4.2 install /home/matthijs/.node_modules/lib/node_modules/serialport
> node-pre-gyp install --fallback-to-build

sh: 1: node-pre-gyp: not found
npm WARN This failure might be due to the use of legacy binary "node"
npm WARN For further explanations, please read
/usr/share/doc/nodejs/README.Debian
 
npm ERR! serialport at 1.4.2 install: `node-pre-gyp install --fallback-to-build`
npm ERR! Exit status 127
npm ERR! 
npm ERR! Failed at the serialport at 1.4.2 install script.
npm ERR! This is most likely a problem with the serialport package,
npm ERR! not with npm itself.
npm ERR! Tell the author that this fails on your system:
npm ERR!     node-pre-gyp install --fallback-to-build
npm ERR! You can get their info via:
npm ERR!     npm owner ls serialport
npm ERR! There is likely additional logging output above.

npm ERR! System Linux 3.14-1-amd64
npm ERR! command "/usr/bin/nodejs" "/usr/bin/npm" "install" "-g" "serialport"
npm ERR! cwd /home/matthijs
npm ERR! node -v v0.10.29
npm ERR! npm -v 1.4.21
npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE
npm ERR! 
npm ERR! Additional logging details can be found in:
npm ERR!     /home/matthijs/npm-debug.log
npm ERR! not ok code 0


I haven't figured out what the actual problem is yet, but I want to point this message:

npm WARN This failure might be due to the use of legacy binary "node"
npm WARN For further explanations, please read
/usr/share/doc/nodejs/README.Debian


However, the referenced README.Debian doesn't actually talk about anything
related at all - nothing in there helps me solve this problem. README.Debian
from the npm package doesn't help either.

Perhaps this info was removed at some point?

Gr.

Matthijs

-- System Information:
Debian Release: jessie/sid
  APT prefers testing
  APT policy: (990, 'testing'), (500, 'unstable'), (500, 'stable'), (500, 'oldstable'), (1, 'experimental')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Foreign Architectures: i386

Kernel: Linux 3.14-1-amd64 (SMP w/4 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash

Versions of packages npm depends on:
ii  node-abbrev               1.0.4-2
ii  node-ansi                 0.2.1-1
ii  node-ansi-color-table     1.0.0-1
ii  node-archy                0.0.2-1
ii  node-block-stream         0.0.7-1
ii  node-fstream              0.1.24-1
ii  node-fstream-ignore       0.0.6-2
ii  node-github-url-from-git  1.1.1-1
ii  node-glob                 3.2.6-1
ii  node-graceful-fs          2.0.0-2
ii  node-gyp                  0.12.2+ds-1
ii  node-inherits             2.0.0-1
ii  node-ini                  1.1.0-1
ii  node-lockfile             0.4.1-1
ii  node-lru-cache            2.3.1-1
ii  node-minimatch            0.2.12-1
ii  node-mkdirp               0.3.5-1
ii  node-nopt                 3.0.1-1
ii  node-npmlog               0.0.4-1
ii  node-once                 1.1.1-1
ii  node-osenv                0.0.3-1
ii  node-read                 1.0.4-1
ii  node-read-package-json    1.1.3-1
ii  node-request              2.26.1-1
ii  node-retry                0.6.0-1
ii  node-rimraf               2.2.2-2
ii  node-semver               2.1.0-2
ii  node-sha                  1.2.3-1
ii  node-slide                1.1.4-1
ii  node-tar                  0.1.18-1
ii  node-underscore           1.4.4-2
ii  node-which                1.0.5-2
ii  nodejs                    0.10.29~dfsg-1

npm recommends no packages.

npm suggests no packages.

-- no debconf information