Update via npm on MacOS failed
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Description
Describe the bug A clear and concise description of what the bug is.
I've been using MW-CLI on my Mac for a while now and installed it via npm. However, the update process didn't work as expected there. So I copied the contents of my terminal so you can follow along with each step. (Note: I've removed some general help text.)
user@Mac ~ % mw
› Warning: @mittwald/cli update available from 1.17.2 to 1.23.0.
Hand-crafted CLI for the mittwald API
VERSION
@mittwald/cli/1.17.2 darwin-arm64 node-v24.13.1
USAGE / TOPICS / COMMANDS
...
user@Mac ~ % mw update
@mittwald/cli: Updating CLI... not updatable
user@Mac ~ % sudo mw update
Password:
@mittwald/cli: Updating CLI... not updatable
user@Mac ~ % mw --version
› Warning: @mittwald/cli update available from 1.17.2 to 1.23.0.
@mittwald/cli/1.17.2 darwin-arm64 node-v24.13.1
user@Mac ~ % npm update -g @mittwald/cli
npm error code EACCES
npm error syscall rename
npm error path /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/cli
npm error dest /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/.cli-WYK5E5NH
npm error errno -13
npm error Error: EACCES: permission denied, rename '/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/cli' -> '/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/.cli-WYK5E5NH'
npm error at async Object.rename (node:internal/fs/promises:782:10)
npm error at async moveFile (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/@npmcli/fs/lib/move-file.js:30:5)
npm error at async Promise.allSettled (index 0)
npm error at async #reifyPackages (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/@npmcli/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js:309:11)
npm error at async Arborist.reify (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/@npmcli/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js:121:5)
npm error at async Update.exec (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/commands/update.js:64:5)
npm error at async Npm.exec (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/npm.js:208:9)
npm error at async module.exports (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/cli/entry.js:67:5) {
npm error errno: -13,
npm error code: 'EACCES',
npm error syscall: 'rename',
npm error path: '/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/cli',
npm error dest: '/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/.cli-WYK5E5NH'
npm error }
npm error
npm error The operation was rejected by your operating system.
npm error It is likely you do not have the permissions to access this file as the current user
npm error
npm error If you believe this might be a permissions issue, please double-check the
npm error permissions of the file and its containing directories, or try running
npm error the command again as root/Administrator.
npm error A complete log of this run can be found in: /Users/hms/.npm/_logs/2026-08-24T06_20_41_866Z-debug-0.log
user@Mac ~ % sudo npm update -g @mittwald/cli
added 4 packages, removed 1 package, and changed 10 packages in 1s
119 packages are looking for funding
run `npm fund` for details
user@Mac ~ % mw --version
(node:14589) Warning: SyntaxError
module: @oclif/core@4.11.7
task: findCommand (experimental:deploy)
plugin: @mittwald/cli
root: /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/cli
message: The requested module '@mittwald/container-deploy' does not provide an export named 'DEFAULT_IMAGE_NAME'
See more details with DEBUG=*
(Use `node --trace-warnings ...` to show where the warning was created)
@mittwald/cli/1.23.0 darwin-arm64 node-v24.13.1
To get the latest version anyway, I reinstalled it and received the following output:
user@Mac ~ % npm install -g @mittwald/cli
npm error code EACCES
npm error syscall rename
npm error path /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/cli
npm error dest /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/.cli-WYK5E5NH
npm error errno -13
npm error Error: EACCES: permission denied, rename '/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/cli' -> '/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/.cli-WYK5E5NH'
npm error at async Object.rename (node:internal/fs/promises:782:10)
npm error at async moveFile (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/@npmcli/fs/lib/move-file.js:30:5)
npm error at async Promise.allSettled (index 0)
npm error at async #reifyPackages (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/@npmcli/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js:309:11)
npm error at async Arborist.reify (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/@npmcli/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js:121:5)
npm error at async Install.exec (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/commands/install.js:150:5)
npm error at async Npm.exec (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/npm.js:208:9)
npm error at async module.exports (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/cli/entry.js:67:5) {
npm error errno: -13,
npm error code: 'EACCES',
npm error syscall: 'rename',
npm error path: '/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/cli',
npm error dest: '/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mittwald/.cli-WYK5E5NH'
npm error }
npm error
npm error The operation was rejected by your operating system.
npm error It is likely you do not have the permissions to access this file as the current user
npm error
npm error If you believe this might be a permissions issue, please double-check the
npm error permissions of the file and its containing directories, or try running
npm error the command again as root/Administrator.
npm error A complete log of this run can be found in: /Users/hms/.npm/_logs/2026-08-24T06_22_23_465Z-debug-0.log
user@Mac ~ % sudo npm install -g @mittwald/cli
added 5 packages, removed 3 packages, and changed 352 packages in 4s
107 packages are looking for funding
run `npm fund` for details
user@Mac ~ % mw --version
@mittwald/cli/1.23.0 darwin-arm64 node-v24.13.1
user@Mac ~ %
Now that I'm looking at this in detail again, the update didn't work with either the regular user or sudo. A global update didn't work either, but a reinstallation using sudo did. Is this normal, or did I make any mistake in the first few steps?
Environment (please complete the following information):
- OS: macOS 26.5.2
- Shell: zsh
- Terminal: standard Apple 2.15
- Version: see above
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reproducing the reported mw update, sudo mw update, and global npm update behavior on macOS with the versions shown. Inspect the CLI's update entry point and the package installation flow, then check the @oclif/core warning involving @mittwald/container-deploy. Done means the supported update path works consistently and mw --version runs without the reported warning.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- macos, node.js, typescript
- Domain
- cli
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 38/100