The xpm Frequently Asked Questions
The location where npm installs global modules got lost; most probably
you recently switched to zsh and forgot to migrate the shell startup
to .zprofile.
Copy the PATH setting from your previous shell startup file to
.zprofile.
In the most generic use case, configurations can have specific dependencies, for example different configurations can use different architecture toolchains, or, in test cases, different versions of the same toolchain.
Thus, defining configurations in package.json is probably the
best choice, otherwise both xpm and the build tools must handle
multiple files with partly redundant content.
This problem occurs usually on GNU/Linux, and is caused by trying to use
the outdated version of Node available in the distribution, which
does not understand the async keyword.
Errors may look like:
$ xpm -v
/home/ilg/opt/npm/lib/node_modules/xpm/node_modules/@ilg/cli-start-options/lib/cli-application.js:150
static async start () {
^^^^^
SyntaxError: Unexpected identifier
at exports.runInThisContext (vm.js:53:16)
at Module._compile (module.js:374:25)
at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:417:10)
at Module.load (module.js:344:32)
at Function.Module._load (module.js:301:12)
at Module.require (module.js:354:17)
at require (internal/module.js:12:17)
at Object.<anonymous> (/home/ilg/opt/npm/lib/node_modules/xpm/node_modules/@ilg/cli-start-options/index.js:55:24)
at Module._compile (module.js:410:26)
at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:417:10)
The solution is to install the most recent LTS version of Node, as described in the prerequisites page.
This problem is specific to Windows and is caused by aggressive antivirus programs.
On Windows, binary xPacks are .zip archives containing .exe files; some aggressive antivirus programs may quarantine those files, or even modify the content of the archives, affecting the checksum and thus preventing the packages to be installed.
Errors may look like:
Downloading https://github.com/gnu-mcu-eclipse/qemu/releases/download/v2.8.0-4-20190211/gnu-mcu-eclipse-qemu-2.8.0-4-20190211-0633-win64.zip...
{ Error: sha256-p3CgzXJt4zi5g0kxQXlOpss3Xu5Yy+Zv8HXWXkUdg6g= integrity checksum failed when using sha256: wanted sha256-p3CgzXJt4zi5g0kxQXlOpss3Xu5Yy+Zv8HXWXkUdg6g= but got sha512-k1s9UW6Zb20llIuopUwbf3D38OP1F+Nkgf3wGWwsXPwoQfhuiR89+VF3Rrf7YF20fN3tG4/3jZSC3apiHbQ6NA== sha256-ABnfxLMtY8E5KqJkrtIlPB4ML7CSFvjizCabv7i7SbU=. (9 bytes)
...
Extracting 'gnu-mcu-eclipse-qemu-2.8.0-4-20190211-0633-win64.zip'...
error: Cannot read property 'path' of null
The solution is to configure the antivirus program to be less aggressive,
at least for files in the
AppData\Roaming\xPacks and AppData\Local\Caches\xPacks folders.
If this is not possible, temporarily disable the antivirus program. Or switch to a better operating system.
Yes, due to an unfortunate Apple decision, this folder is hidden for regular browsing in Finder.
To make it back visible, use:
/usr/bin/chflags nohidden ~/Library
xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo ~/Library
Yes, due to an unfortunate Apple decision, all folders starting with a dot are hidden for regular browsing in Finder.
Fortunately there is a workaround for this:
cmd+shift+'.'
This keyboard shortcut works like a toggle, using it once makes files starting with dot visible, using it again reverts to hiding them.