[BUG] npm install does not set $INIT_CWD correctly for some GitHub packages

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

This issue exists in the latest npm version

• I am using the latest npm

Current Behavior

INIT_CWD is supposed to point to the folder where npm i is executed. For some packages installed from GitHub, INIT_CWD points to a /.npm/_cacache folder. This problem prevents lifecycle scripts from knowing where the project folder is.

This is similar behavior as described in https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/3123.

Expected Behavior

$INIT_CWD should point to the folder where npm was executed.

Steps To Reproduce

1. In this environment...

   System: Macbook Pro M1 Max running macOS Ventura 13.3.1 (a)
   Node: v20.0.0
   NPM: 9.6.4

2. With this config...

   $ cd repos
   $ mkdir test_adt2
   $ npm init -y
   

3. Run '...'

   $ pwd
   /Users/eedwards/repos/test_adt2
   $ npm i github:eskwayrd/adt2
   ...snip...
   npm ERR! code 1
   npm ERR! git dep preparation failed
   npm ERR! command /usr/local/bin/node /usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/bin/npm-cli.js install --force --cache=/Users/eedwards/.npm --prefer-offline=false --prefer-online=false --offline=false --no-progress --no-save --no-audit --include=dev --include=peer --include=optional --no-package-lock-only --no-dry-run
   npm ERR! > antora-doc-tools@1.0.0 prepare
   npm ERR! > echo $INIT_CWD && node prepare.js
   npm ERR! 
   npm ERR! /Users/eedwards/.npm/_cacache/tmp/git-cloneXL4RP5
   ...snip...
   

   Notice that echo $INIT_CWD shows a path in ~/.npm, which is not the path where I executed npm i.

4. See error...

Environment

• npm: 9.6.4
• Node.js: 20.0.0
• OS Name: macOS Ventura 13.3.1 (a)
• System Model Name: Macbook Pro
• npm config:

; copy and paste output from `npm config ls` here
; node bin location = /usr/local/bin/node
; node version = v20.0.0
; npm local prefix = /Users/eedwards/repos/test_adt2
; npm version = 9.6.4
; cwd = /Users/eedwards/repos/test_adt2
; HOME = /Users/eedwards
; Run `npm config ls -l` to show all defaults.

Reproduce the GitHub package installation and its prepare.js script using the command shown in the report. Start at the npm-cli.js invocation and trace how INIT_CWD is set during Git dependency preparation; done means the script reports the directory where npm install was executed rather than a ~/.npm/_cacache path.