* fix(desktop): resolve electronDist dynamically + self-heal blocked installs
Supersedes the static-path approach (#48081) and the install-step self-heal
(#48082) with a fix that removes the whole failure class instead of chasing each
symptom. Three distinct faults converged into the June desktop-build outage; this
closes all three.
Root cause (the part #48081 left open — "Gap B"):
build.electronDist was a static relative path in apps/desktop/package.json, but
npm workspace hoisting is NOT deterministic — depending on the npm version and
what else is installed, npm nests the workspace-only electron devDep under
apps/desktop/node_modules/electron OR hoists it to the repo root. A static path
matches only one layout, so a clean install intermittently fails with "The
specified electronDist does not exist". #48081 re-pointed the path at the
nested layout (correct today) but electron-builder reads electronDist
STATICALLY, so any future hoist change silently breaks it again — only caught
by a CI invariant, never self-corrected.
Fix:
- scripts/run-electron-builder.cjs: resolve electron the way Node's runtime does
— require.resolve("electron/package.json") walks node_modules from the desktop
project upward and finds electron wherever npm actually put it. The path can
never drift out of sync with the install layout again, on any OS/npm version.
* dist present -> pass -c.electronDist=<abs>/dist so electron-builder reuses
the unpacked runtime (keeps the #38673 fast path that dodges the 26.8.x
missing-binary re-unpack bug).
* dist absent -> omit electronDist; electron-builder fetches Electron itself
via @electron/get honoring electronVersion + ELECTRON_MIRROR.
package.json: builder script now runs the wrapper; the static build.electronDist
is removed (the resolver owns it).
- main.py / install.sh / install.ps1: on a dependency-install failure where the
electron package staged but its dist is missing (electron's install.js
process.exit(1) on a blocked/throttled binary download — #47266/#47917/#48021),
repopulate the dist via electron's downloader (canonical, then npmmirror.com)
and CONTINUE to the build instead of aborting. npm runs postinstall LAST, so
the only casualty is electron/dist; bailing here is what made the pack-time
mirror self-heal unreachable on a blocked network. Hard-fail only when electron
never staged at all (a genuine dependency error).
- The pack-time mirror fallback now retries the build even when the pre-fetch
can't populate the dist: the wrapper lets electron-builder download Electron
itself via the mirror, so the retry is no longer a no-op (it was, when
electronDist was a static path).
The exact 40.10.2 pin (already on main) keeps the third mode — the native
@electron-internal/extract-zip win32 binding that 40.10.3/40.10.4 ship without a
published prebuild — from recurring.
Tests:
- test_desktop_electron_pin.py: replace the static-path-matches-lockfile
invariant with contracts that there is no hardcoded electronDist to drift, the
builder script routes through the resolver, and the resolver uses Node module
resolution + injects -c.electronDist.
- test_gui_command.py: install-failure self-heal continues to build; genuine
(electron-never-staged) install failure still hard-fails; pack retries under
the mirror even when the pre-fetch is blocked.
Salvages/supersedes the overlapping community work in #48003 (sitkarev),
#48012 (omegazheng), #48033 (james47kjv), and #48082.
Co-authored-by: sitkarev <59806492+sitkarev@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: omegazheng <zheng@omegasys.eu>
Co-authored-by: james47kjv <220877172+james47kjv@users.noreply.github.com>
* fix(desktop): narrow Electron self-heal to real missing-dist failures
Follow-up on #48091 to remove the remaining misdiagnosis risk from the
installer/build fallback path (#46785 concern): only take the Electron
repair/retry path when Electron's package files are staged and dist is actually
missing/corrupt.
- main.py: add _electron_pkg_staged_missing_dist() and use it to gate install
failure recovery; fail fast for unrelated npm install errors.
- main.py/install.sh/install.ps1: run cache purge + retry only when dist is
missing; do not retry unrelated tsc/vite/build failures under an
Electron-specific narrative.
- install.sh/install.ps1: tighten install-stage self-heal guard to require both
package.json + install.js and missing dist.
- tests: add coverage that install failure hard-fails when Electron dist already
exists, and update retry test to reflect the tightened recovery condition.
Validation:
- Python tests: 64 passed
- install.sh-related tests included in the run
- Real mac build on this machine:
- npm ci at repo root: success
- cd apps/desktop && npm run pack: success
- electron-builder packaged darwin arm64 and used custom unpacked Electron dist
* refactor(desktop): trim electron self-heal helpers and comments
Deduplicate mirror-retry into _try_redownload_electron_dist / shell
counterparts; shorten wrapper and install-script commentary without
changing recovery semantics.
---------
Co-authored-by: sitkarev <59806492+sitkarev@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: omegazheng <zheng@omegasys.eu>
Co-authored-by: james47kjv <220877172+james47kjv@users.noreply.github.com>
After the June lockfile regeneration (#46652) floated electron and reshuffled
npm workspace hoisting, the desktop pack fails with "The specified electronDist
does not exist". apps/desktop/package.json pointed electronDist at the repo
root (../../node_modules/electron/dist) while npm now installs electron nested
under apps/desktop/node_modules/electron. The two contradict, so a clean
install can never package the app (Windows + macOS).
- electronDist -> node_modules/electron/dist (resolved relative to apps/desktop,
i.e. the workspace-local install npm actually produces).
- hermes_cli/main.py, scripts/install.sh, scripts/install.ps1: add a runtime
electron-dir resolver that prefers apps/desktop/node_modules/electron and
falls back to the root hoist, so dist checks + the mirror re-download work
under either npm layout.
- patch-electron-builder-mac-binary.cjs: try the workspace-local Electron.app
before the root hoist in the macOS binary-restore fallback (sibling site no
PR touched).
- test: assert build.electronDist resolves to where the lockfile installs
electron, so a future hoist change (root <-> nested) can't silently break it.
Salvages the overlapping work in #48003 (sitkarev), #48012 (omegazheng), and
#48033 (james47kjv).
Co-authored-by: sitkarev <59806492+sitkarev@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: omegazheng <zheng@omegasys.eu>
Co-authored-by: james47kjv <220877172+james47kjv@users.noreply.github.com>
* fix(desktop): pin Electron below the broken native extract-zip install
The Windows desktop install fails at "Building desktop app": Electron's
postinstall aborts with `ERR_DLOPEN_FAILED loading
index.win32-x64-msvc.node` / "Cannot find native binding" from
`@electron-internal/extract-zip`.
Root cause is a dependency drift, not the user's machine. Electron changed
its install mechanism mid-patch-series:
electron 40.9.3 .. 40.10.2 -> @electron/get@^2 + extract-zip@^2 (pure JS)
electron 40.10.3 / 40.10.4 -> @electron/get@^5 + @electron-internal/extract-zip@^1 (native napi)
apps/desktop declares `electronVersion: 40.9.3` (the tested, JS-extract
build) but pinned the dependency as `electron: ^40.9.3`, so `npm ci`/`npm
install` silently resolved 40.10.3/40.10.4 — onto the brand-new native
extract-zip whose win32-x64 binding fails to dlopen on some Windows hosts.
The committed lockfile already carried 40.10.3, and the installer's mirror
fallback can't help (it re-runs Electron's own `install.js`, which uses the
same broken native module).
Fix:
- Pin `electron` to an exact `40.10.2` — the newest build before the native
extract-zip switch — and align `build.electronVersion` to match (Electron
Builder needs electronVersion/electronDist to match the installed binary).
- Add a root `yauzl: ^3.3.1` override so the (re-introduced) JS extract-zip
path also works on Node >= 24.16 / >= 26.1, where the old yauzl hangs.
This is the same workaround the wider Electron ecosystem adopted.
- Regenerate package-lock.json: drops @electron-internal/extract-zip and
@electron/get@5, restores @electron/get@2 + extract-zip@2 + yauzl@3.4.0.
* test(desktop): lock the Electron pin/version/lockfile consistency contract
Guards against the dependency drift that broke the Windows desktop install:
the Electron dependency must be an exact version, must equal
build.electronVersion, and the lockfile must resolve to that same version so
`npm ci` installs exactly what electron-builder packages. Asserts the
relationships, not a specific version number.