npm / npm/cli

[BUG] npm install cannot update the lock file

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#7,085 6 comments 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Bug Needs Triage Release 10.x
Dominant language
JavaScript
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

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

Hi,

We are trying to upgrade some libraries, using the renovate bot:
image

but when the npm install command is executed, it fails to update the package-lock.json file.
We get the following error:
image

If I manually delete the package-lock.json file and node_modules folder, and then run the npm install command, it works:
image

Any ideas why it fails?

Expected Behavior

No response

Steps To Reproduce

No response

Environment
  • npm: 10.2.5
  • Node.js: 20.10.0
  • OS Name: Mac OS & Linux & Windows
  • npm config:
save-exact = true
save-prefix = ""

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the reported npm 10.2.5 and Node.js 20.10.0 environment, including the save-exact and save-prefix settings, and reproduce the Renovate-triggered npm install failure. Compare behavior with package-lock.json and node_modules present versus after deleting them; done means npm install updates package-lock.json without requiring either deletion.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript, node.js
Domain
cli
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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