[Desktop][Windows] v1.18.13 still repeatedly tries to install non-existent @opencode-ai/plugin@local on every startup

[Desktop][Windows] v1.18.13 still repeatedly tries to install non-existent @opencode-ai/plugin@local on every startup

Summary

OpenCode Desktop (Windows, v1.18.13, latest as of 2026-08-05) still attempts to install @opencode-ai/plugin@local on every startup / agent open. local is not a published version or dist-tag on npm, so every attempt fails with NpmInstallFailedError. On my machine this happens ~10 times per launch (bursts of 7-9 failures within 1-2 seconds), each attempt triggering the desktop "error" alert sound and adding seconds of startup latency.

This was previously reported in #26003 (closed automatically after 60 days of inactivity, not fixed), #27676, #30197. It is still reproducible on v1.18.13.

Environment

Steps to reproduce

1. Install OpenCode Desktop 1.18.13 on Windows.
2. Open the app (or switch to an agent). Watch the UI / listen for the error alert sound.
3. Check %USERPROFILE%\.local\share\opencode\log\opencode.log.

Observed log (2026-08-05, ~10 failures on this launch)

timestamp=2026-08-05T02:10:26.771Z level=WARN run=fd26596d message="background dependency install failed" dir="C:\\Users\\RALF\\.opencode" error="Cause([Fail(NpmInstallFailedError (cause: @opencode-ai/plugin: No matching version found for @opencode-ai/plugin@local.))])"
timestamp=2026-08-05T02:10:27.182Z level=WARN run=fd26596d message="background dependency install failed" dir="C:\\Users\\RALF\\.opencode" error="Cause([Fail(NpmInstallFailedError (cause: @opencode-ai/plugin: No matching version found for @opencode-ai/plugin@local.))])"
timestamp=2026-08-05T02:10:27.261Z level=WARN run=fd26596d message="background dependency install failed" dir="C:\\Users\\RALF\\Documents\\OPENCODE\\临时\\.opencode" error="Cause([Fail(NpmInstallFailedError (cause: @opencode-ai/plugin: No matching version found for @opencode-ai/plugin@local.))])"
... (7 more within the same second)

Affected directories on this machine: C:\Users\RALF\.opencode (425+ historical failures), C:\Users\RALF\Documents\OPENCODE\临时\.opencode (45+). The directories contain only .gitignore, skills/, commands/ — no package.json at all, yet the dependency installer still runs npm install @opencode-ai/plugin@local.

Root cause (from #26003 analysis, still unfixed)

• packages/core/src/installation/version.ts:

  export const InstallationVersion = typeof OPENCODE_VERSION === "string" ? OPENCODE_VERSION : "local"
  

• The Desktop release is built without injecting OPENCODE_VERSION, so InstallationVersion falls back to "local".
• packages/opencode/src/config/config.ts then pins @opencode-ai/plugin to InstallationVersion → @opencode-ai/plugin@local, which does not exist on the npm registry.
• A local package.json with a valid version (e.g. "@opencode-ai/plugin": "1.18.11") does not help — the installer passes @local explicitly and ignores the manifest.

Impact

• Audible: every failed install triggers the desktop "Play sound when an error occurs" alert → the well-known burst of 7-9 beeps on startup (related: #32389).
• Performance: each failed npm install takes several seconds; multiple projects × repeated retries add ~20-40s of startup latency (related: #27676 measured ~30s).
• Log noise: dozens of WARN lines per day.

Expected behavior

The Desktop build should be produced with OPENCODE_VERSION (and OPENCODE_CHANNEL) defined, so dependency installs use a real published version like @opencode-ai/plugin@1.18.13. Alternatively, skip the dependency-install step entirely when no package.json/plugin files exist in the .opencode directory.

Suggested tags

desktop, windows, performance, bug

Related issues

#26003, #27676, #30197, #32389