cpu-features npm install error

[thebrianbug]

It seems like further down the dependency tree is a not maintained dependency that throws.

ssh2-sftp-client -> ssh2 -> cpu-features (which is optional, not needed, and not maintained) mscdex/ssh2#1083

This causes an error thrown on npm install on macs. Also, my sls deploy fails due to unexpected token error from whatever is downloaded for the cpu-features package. My current workaround is to rerun npm install --no-optional.

Can we get this addressed down the chain and merge it in?

[theophilusx]

Brian McIlwain ***@***.***> writes:

It seems like further down the dependency tree is a not maintained dependency that throws. ssh2-sftp-client -> ssh2 -> cpu-features (which is optional, not needed, and not maintained) mscdex/ssh2#1083

It is optional, but I don't believe it is reasonable to state it is not maintained and I don't know if it has advantages for those platforms where it is supported (i.e. it installs fine under Linux provided you have the necessary build tools. I think it also builds fine with Intel based macs. Support for M1 has not yet been added). I'm not familiar enough with the ssh2 internals to understand precisely how the package is used, but I'm also confident the author is across the issues and has good reasons not to remove it.

This causes an error thrown on npm install on macs. Also, my sls deploy fails due to unexpected token error from whatever is downloaded for the cpu-features package. My current workaround is to rerun npm install --no-optional.

That is odd. I get a warning, not an error, when I install on my mac. The package installs fine and works without issue for me. What version of node and npm are you using? What version of macOS? Is it an intel based mac or M1? I think the dependency will also build successfully on intel based macs.

Can we get this addressed down the chain and merge it in?

I doubt it. The ssh2 author has been asked to do this in the past and was not willing to do so. As he points out, this is an optional dependency. Environments like serverless.com, should not error out when unable to install optional dependencies - rather, it should issue an informative warning and complete the install without error. Otherwise, what is the point of having optional dependencies? I certainly don't want to do anything at the ssh2-sftp-client level as this will just add additional maintenance overhead which I don't have time to deal with. Using the --no-optional switch for NPM is the easiest way to avoid issues should your build chain not handle the missing optional dependency or cause it too look like installation has failed. I've installed and run both ssh2 and ssh2-sftp-client on Linux, windows10 and macOS Big Sur with no issues and no need to use the --no-optional switch. Perhaps lambda/serverless is not as forgiving and you need to add that switch as a configuration option on that platform?

[thebrianbug]

Understood. Closing this.