[BUG] npm ERR! Cannot read properties of null (reading 'package') #4787

Activity

1. arimus

   added

   Bugthing that needs fixingthing that needs fixing

   Needs Triageneeds review for next stepsneeds review for next steps

   Release 8.xwork is associated with a specific npm 8 releasework is associated with a specific npm 8 release

   on Apr 21, 2022
2. BobFrankston commented on Jun 12, 2022

   

   BobFrankston

   on Jun 12, 2022

   More actions

   This is frustrating because I can look at the log and find out the call stack, but it doesn't help me in fixing the problem. I accept that it's my error, but it would save many hours if there were more information about the source of the error.

   In my case, I get Cannot read properties of null (reading 'package'). I'm using symbolic links, so there may be an inconsistency, but how can I find it? I can attach the log though I'm wary about posting specific info.

   The line

   37 verbose shrinkwrap failed to load node_modules/.package-lock.json missing from lockfile: ../mlib/node_modules/ansi-styles
   

   hints at the problem but it works in other contexts

   👍React with 👍1Reacted by Gege
3. silentcloud commented on Jun 13, 2022

   

   silentcloud

   on Jun 13, 2022

   More actions

   +1
   node 16.15.1
   npm 8.11.0
4. lesliesu commented on Jun 22, 2022

   

   lesliesu

   on Jun 22, 2022

   More actions

   +1
   node 16.13.2
   npm 8.1.2
5. AlekhyaYalla commented on Jul 13, 2022

   

   AlekhyaYalla

   on Jul 13, 2022

   More actions

   Any update on this issue? I'm facing this issue
6. david-987 commented on Jul 17, 2022

   

   david-987

   on Jul 17, 2022

   More actions

   +1 npm cache clear --force doesn't work which is my go-to when npm bugs out.
   npm 8.1.4
   node 16.14
7. Zakyyy commented on Jul 19, 2022

   

   Zakyyy

   on Jul 19, 2022

   More actions

   same
8. jerinkalexander commented on Jul 20, 2022

   

   jerinkalexander

   on Jul 20, 2022

   More actions

   128 verbose node v16.15.1
   129 verbose npm v8.14.0
   130 error Cannot read properties of null (reading 'children')
   131 verbose exit 1

   Same here while running npm link.

   👀React with 👀4Reacted by Kyra, gang, Nishant Paliwal and Deepak Kumar
9. andrey-helldar commented on Jul 24, 2022

   

   andrey-helldar

   on Jul 24, 2022

   Last edited by andrey-helldar

   More actions

   Node 16.16 and Npm 8.11 and 8.15 too

   Show log

   0 verbose cli C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\default\node.exe C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\default\node_modules\npm\bin\npm-cli.js
   1 info using npm@8.11.0
   2 info using node@v16.16.0
   3 timing npm:load:whichnode Completed in 0ms
   4 timing config:load:defaults Completed in 3ms
   5 timing config:load:file:C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\node\16.16.0\x64\node_modules\npm\npmrc Completed in 1ms
   6 timing config:load:builtin Completed in 1ms
   7 timing config:load:cli Completed in 1ms
   8 timing config:load:env Completed in 0ms
   9 timing config:load:file:D:\domains\volunteers\web\.npmrc Completed in 0ms
   10 timing config:load:project Completed in 1ms
   11 timing config:load:file:C:\Users\Helldar\.npmrc Completed in 0ms
   12 timing config:load:user Completed in 0ms
   13 timing config:load:file:C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\default\etc\npmrc Completed in 1ms
   14 timing config:load:global Completed in 1ms
   15 timing config:load:validate Completed in 0ms
   16 timing config:load:credentials Completed in 0ms
   17 timing config:load:setEnvs Completed in 1ms
   18 timing config:load Completed in 9ms
   19 timing npm:load:configload Completed in 9ms
   20 timing npm:load:mkdirpcache Completed in 1ms
   21 timing npm:load:mkdirplogs Completed in 0ms
   22 verbose title npm i
   23 verbose argv "i"
   24 timing npm:load:setTitle Completed in 1ms
   25 timing config:load:flatten Completed in 2ms
   26 timing npm:load:display Completed in 3ms
   27 verbose logfile logs-max:10 dir:C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\npm-cache\_logs
   28 verbose logfile C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\npm-cache\_logs\2022-07-24T10_07_31_732Z-debug-0.log
   29 timing npm:load:logFile Completed in 3ms
   30 timing npm:load:timers Completed in 0ms
   31 timing npm:load:configScope Completed in 0ms
   32 timing npm:load Completed in 17ms
   33 timing arborist:ctor Completed in 0ms
   34 silly logfile start cleaning logs, removing 1 files
   35 silly logfile done cleaning log files
   36 timing arborist:ctor Completed in 0ms
   37 timing idealTree:init Completed in 9ms
   38 timing idealTree:userRequests Completed in 0ms
   39 silly idealTree buildDeps
   40 silly fetch manifest @cloudgeek/vue3-video-player@^0.3.10
   41 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@cloudgeek%2fvue3-video-player 300ms (cache miss)
   42 silly fetch manifest @mdi/font@^6.2.0
   43 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@mdi%2ffont 128ms (cache miss)
   44 silly fetch manifest apexcharts@^3.35.3
   45 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/apexcharts 64ms (cache miss)
   46 silly fetch manifest axios@^0.27.2
   47 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/axios 45ms (cache miss)
   48 silly fetch manifest laravel-vue-i18n@^2.1.1
   49 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/laravel-vue-i18n 47ms (cache miss)
   50 silly fetch manifest laravel-mix@^6.0.43
   51 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/laravel-mix 57ms (cache miss)
   52 silly fetch manifest postcss@^8.4.14
   53 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/postcss 43ms (cache miss)
   54 silly fetch manifest lodash@^4.17.21
   55 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/lodash 58ms (cache miss)
   56 silly fetch manifest maska@^1.5.0
   57 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/maska 39ms (cache miss)
   58 silly fetch manifest moment@^2.29.3
   59 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/moment 51ms (cache miss)
   60 silly fetch manifest moment-duration-format@^2.3.2
   61 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/moment-duration-format 54ms (cache miss)
   62 silly fetch manifest moment-timezone@^0.5.34
   63 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/moment-timezone 58ms (cache miss)
   64 silly fetch manifest pinia@^2.0.14
   65 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/pinia 51ms (cache miss)
   66 silly fetch manifest @vue/composition-api@^1.4.0
   67 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@vue%2fcomposition-api 152ms (cache miss)
   68 silly fetch manifest vue@^3.2.25
   69 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vue 69ms (cache miss)
   70 silly fetch manifest vue@>= 2.5 < 2.7
   71 silly fetch manifest typescript@^4.5.4
   72 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/typescript 142ms (cache miss)
   73 silly fetch manifest pinia-plugin-persistedstate@^1.6.3
   74 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/pinia-plugin-persistedstate 45ms (cache miss)
   75 silly fetch manifest query-string@^7.1.1
   76 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/query-string 41ms (cache miss)
   77 silly fetch manifest roboto-fontface@*
   78 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/roboto-fontface 42ms (cache miss)
   79 silly fetch manifest vue-router@^4.0.16
   80 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vue-router 54ms (cache miss)
   81 silly fetch manifest vue-toastification@^2.0.0-rc.5
   82 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vue-toastification 47ms (cache miss)
   83 silly fetch manifest vue3-apexcharts@^1.4.1
   84 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vue3-apexcharts 42ms (cache miss)
   85 silly fetch manifest vue3-audio-player@^1.0.5
   86 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vue3-audio-player 42ms (cache miss)
   87 silly fetch manifest vue3-openlayers@^0.1.68
   88 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vue3-openlayers 48ms (cache miss)
   89 silly fetch manifest vue3-telegram-login@^0.0.4
   90 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vue3-telegram-login 48ms (cache miss)
   91 silly fetch manifest vuetify@^3.0.0-beta.5
   92 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vuetify 62ms (cache miss)
   93 silly fetch manifest @formatjs/intl@^1.0.0 || ^2.0.0
   94 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@formatjs%2fintl 157ms (cache miss)
   95 silly fetch manifest vite-plugin-vuetify@^1.0.0-alpha.0
   96 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vite-plugin-vuetify 62ms (cache miss)
   97 silly fetch manifest vite-plugin-vuetify@1.0.0-alpha.12
   98 silly fetch manifest vite@^2.9.9
   99 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vite 75ms (cache miss)
   100 silly fetch manifest less@*
   101 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/less 49ms (cache miss)
   102 silly fetch manifest sass@^1.53.0
   103 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/sass 53ms (cache miss)
   104 silly fetch manifest stylus@*
   105 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/stylus 57ms (cache miss)
   106 silly fetch manifest vue-i18n@^9.0.0
   107 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vue-i18n 54ms (cache miss)
   108 silly fetch manifest webpack-plugin-vuetify@2.0.0-alpha.11
   109 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/webpack-plugin-vuetify 77ms (cache miss)
   110 silly fetch manifest @vue/compiler-sfc@^3.2.6
   111 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@vue%2fcompiler-sfc 74ms (cache miss)
   112 silly fetch manifest webpack@^5.0.0
   113 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/webpack 124ms (cache miss)
   114 silly fetch manifest webfontloader@^1.0.0
   115 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/webfontloader 49ms (cache miss)
   116 silly fetch manifest @babel/core@^7.18.6
   117 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@babel%2fcore 57ms (cache miss)
   118 silly fetch manifest @babel/plugin-proposal-class-properties@^7.18.6
   119 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@babel%2fplugin-proposal-class-properties 52ms (cache miss)
   120 silly fetch manifest @babel/plugin-proposal-optional-chaining@^7.18.6
   121 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@babel%2fplugin-proposal-optional-chaining 58ms (cache miss)
   122 silly fetch manifest @popperjs/core@^2.11.5
   123 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@popperjs%2fcore 89ms (cache miss)
   124 silly fetch manifest @types/lodash@^4.14.182
   125 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@types%2flodash 63ms (cache miss)
   126 silly fetch manifest @types/node@^18.0.5
   127 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@types%2fnode 69ms (cache miss)
   128 silly fetch manifest @types/webfontloader@^1.0.0
   129 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@types%2fwebfontloader 66ms (cache miss)
   130 silly fetch manifest @vitejs/plugin-vue@^2.3.3
   131 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@vitejs%2fplugin-vue 89ms (cache miss)
   132 silly fetch manifest autoprefixer@^10.4.7
   133 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/autoprefixer 56ms (cache miss)
   134 silly fetch manifest eslint@^8.18.0
   135 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/eslint 48ms (cache miss)
   136 silly fetch manifest eslint-plugin-prettier@^4.2.1
   137 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/eslint-plugin-prettier 59ms (cache miss)
   138 silly fetch manifest prettier@>=2.0.0
   139 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/prettier 63ms (cache miss)
   140 silly fetch manifest eslint-plugin-you-dont-need-lodash-underscore@^6.12.0
   141 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/eslint-plugin-you-dont-need-lodash-underscore 45ms (cache miss)
   142 silly fetch manifest postcss-import@^14.1.0
   143 http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/postcss-import 42ms (cache miss)
   144 silly fetch manifest vite@^2.7.0
   145 silly fetch manifest sass@*
   146 silly fetch manifest vuetify@^3.0.0-beta.4
   147 silly fetch manifest typescript@^4.5
   148 silly fetch manifest vue@^3.2.0
   149 timing idealTree Completed in 3734ms
   150 timing command:i Completed in 3743ms
   151 verbose stack TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'explain')
   151 verbose stack     at Arborist.[explainPeerConflict] (C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\node\16.16.0\x64\node_modules\npm\node_modules\@npmcli\arborist\lib\arborist\build-ideal-tree.js:1434:29)
   151 verbose stack     at Arborist.[failPeerConflict] (C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\node\16.16.0\x64\node_modules\npm\node_modules\@npmcli\arborist\lib\arborist\build-ideal-tree.js:1427:44)
   151 verbose stack     at Arborist.[loadPeerSet] (C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\node\16.16.0\x64\node_modules\npm\node_modules\@npmcli\arborist\lib\arborist\build-ideal-tree.js:1394:34)
   151 verbose stack     at async Arborist.[buildDepStep] (C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\node\16.16.0\x64\node_modules\npm\node_modules\@npmcli\arborist\lib\arborist\build-ideal-tree.js:976:11)
   151 verbose stack     at async Arborist.buildIdealTree (C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\node\16.16.0\x64\node_modules\npm\node_modules\@npmcli\arborist\lib\arborist\build-ideal-tree.js:218:7)
   151 verbose stack     at async Promise.all (index 1)
   151 verbose stack     at async Arborist.reify (C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\node\16.16.0\x64\node_modules\npm\node_modules\@npmcli\arborist\lib\arborist\reify.js:153:5)
   151 verbose stack     at async Install.exec (C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\node\16.16.0\x64\node_modules\npm\lib\commands\install.js:156:5)
   151 verbose stack     at async module.exports (C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\nvs\node\16.16.0\x64\node_modules\npm\lib\cli.js:78:5)
   152 verbose cwd D:\domains\volunteers\web
   153 verbose Windows_NT 10.0.22000
   154 verbose node v16.16.0
   155 verbose npm  v8.11.0
   156 error Cannot read properties of null (reading 'explain')
   157 verbose exit 1
   158 timing npm Completed in 3831ms
   159 verbose unfinished npm timer reify 1658657251816
   160 verbose unfinished npm timer reify:loadTrees 1658657251822
   161 verbose unfinished npm timer idealTree:buildDeps 1658657251833
   162 verbose unfinished npm timer idealTree:#root 1658657251833
   163 verbose code 1
   164 error A complete log of this run can be found in:
   164 error     C:\Users\Helldar\AppData\Local\npm-cache\_logs\2022-07-24T10_07_31_732Z-debug-0.log
10. arimus commented on Jul 26, 2022

    

    arimus

    on Jul 26, 2022

    Author

    More actions

    This problem is super frustrating. I'm trying to get the package updated upstream, so that I no longer have a local file dependency, but that is taking a long time as well. Kind of surprised that more folks haven't been having this issue, which would give it more attention.

    Worth noting that I've been playing with pnpm recently, which does not have this issue and also has a lot of good features. However, I did find some local relative path dependencies inside my tarball dep. That forced me to adjust to regular npm repo deps and rebuild the tarball, but that was pretty easy. Generally speaking, I'd love to just use npm straight up, but I may bite the bullet and start using pnpm (with shamefully-hoist :P for the time being).

    Happy to re-test this when things are fixed though.
11. ajibadeabd commented on Aug 1, 2022

    

    ajibadeabd

    on Aug 1, 2022

    More actions

    downgrade your node to 16.0, npm to 7+. this workes for me

    🎉React with 🎉1Reacted by Sam Sussman
12. AnatuGreen commented on Aug 15, 2022

    

    AnatuGreen

    on Aug 15, 2022

    More actions

    Mine is this error:

    npm ERR! Cannot read properties of null (reading 'children')

    I have even uninstalled Node and reinstalled it. Same issue

    👍React with 👍7Reacted by Palfalvi Laszlo Lorand, Donatas, ZHIMAO LIN (Mark), Aman Karpentar, Tzach, Bedirhan and Joey Harville
13. Zakyyy commented on Aug 15, 2022

    

    Zakyyy

    on Aug 15, 2022

    Last edited by Zakyyy

    More actions

    @AnatuGreen Can you try to install the dependencies from a terminal that opened with Rosetta (if you're using MacBook with M1 chip)
    use node v16.16.0
    npm v8
14. 30 remaining items

    Load more
15. lukekarrys

    added

    Release 10.x

    on Dec 6, 2023
16. lukekarrys

    self-assigned this

    on Dec 6, 2023
17. mwe commented on Jan 26, 2024

    

    mwe

    on Jan 26, 2024

    More actions

    I just encountered this issue with npm 10.1.0. I didn't try downgrading to 9.0.

    This is the error

    60 verbose stack TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'package')
    In my case, I deleted `node_modules` and then tried what I was previously trying, and it worked.
    

    If this does not resolve it, also deleting the package.lock.json resolves it, it seems also to be related by a package.lock.json that is not matching the current dependency tree in relation with symlinks
18. boshoff commented on Aug 5, 2024

    

    boshoff

    on Aug 5, 2024

    More actions

    Node.js: 20.12.1
    npm: 10.8.2
    OS: macOS 14.6

    $ npm cache clean --force
    (output omitted)
    $ rm -rf node_modules
    $ rm package-lock.json
    $ npm i
    npm error Cannot read properties of null (reading 'package')

    No luck, much easier to switch to pnpm.

    👍React with 👍1Reacted by BenjaminBrienen-CanonPP
19. lukekarrys

    removed their assignment

    on Feb 25, 2025
20. yinsang commented on Jul 17, 2025

    

    yinsang

    on Jul 17, 2025

    More actions

    rm -rf packages/*/node_modules
    

    Workspace mode may need to invoke this command.

    👍React with 👍2Reacted by Adam Plante and tablz-jerome
21. manzoorwanijk commented on Mar 28, 2026

    

    manzoorwanijk

    on Mar 28, 2026

    Last edited by manzoorwanijk

    Contributor

    More actions

    Can someone please confirm if it's still an issue after npm v11.12.1?

    We recently fixed many such issues in arborist.
22. bbrodbeck-memtime commented on May 12, 2026

    

    bbrodbeck-memtime

    on May 12, 2026

    More actions

    I have this issue with npm 11.12.1. I cannot update dependencies because of it.
23. manzoorwanijk commented on May 12, 2026

    

    manzoorwanijk

    on May 12, 2026

    Contributor

    More actions

    Thanks everyone for the reports. This issue has been collecting cases for ~4 years and is really an umbrella for several distinct bugs that all happen to surface the same error (target.package where target is null in Node.set root). Many of the specific scenarios have been fixed in recent npm 11.x releases, including:

    • linked install strategy + workspace-filtered installs ([BUG] npm install --workspace crashes with install-strategy=linked #9038, fixed in fix: workspace-filtered install with linked strategy #9041)
    • nested file: deps re-resolution
    • several npm link edge cases

    I tried to reproduce the originally-reported scenarios on npm 11.12.1 (macOS) and could not trigger the crash with any of:

    • a project with a ./foo.tgz file: dep, installed twice (the original repro)
    • nested file: deps several levels deep
    • workspaces with cross-workspace deps, with and without install-strategy=linked
    • npm linked packages in a workspace

    For anyone still hitting this on 11.12.1 or newer, could you share a minimal reproduction? Specifically:

    1. The package.json (and package-lock.json if present)
    2. The node_modules/ layout right before the failing install — ls -la node_modules/ and any symlinks (find node_modules -maxdepth 3 -type l)
    3. Full npm install --verbose output (or the _logs/*-debug-0.log)
    4. OS + Node + npm versions
    5. Whether the crash happens from a clean state (no node_modules/, no package-lock.json) or only after some prior install

    Without a fresh-state repro, it's almost certainly a stale/inconsistent on-disk state where package-lock.json and node_modules have drifted (the rm -rf node_modules and rm package-lock.json workarounds that work for most people support this). If your case reproduces from a clean state on 11.12.1, that's a new bug worth a separate issue with a runnable repro.
24. typebulb

    added a commit that references this issue on Jul 14, 2026

    README: pnpm dlx registration lane (npx crashes in pnpm workspaces — n…

    ...

    647448a
25. jendrikw commented on Jul 15, 2026

    

    jendrikw

    on Jul 15, 2026

    More actions

    I have a reproducer for this and/or #5222. This link is valid for one month: https://files.ptb-test.opndsk.de/s/r5xk6kYgYFqKtEM

    Simply extract the tgz and run npm i -D vite@8.1.4 && npm i -D @vitejs/devtools --verbose. This is my output:

    npm verbose cli /usr/bin/node /usr/bin/npm
    npm info using npm@11.16.0
    npm info using node@v24.18.0
    npm verbose title npm i @vitejs/devtools
    npm verbose argv "i" "--save-dev" "@vitejs/devtools" "--loglevel" "verbose"
    npm verbose logfile logs-max:10 dir:/home/USER/.npm/_logs/2026-07-15T13_01_19_938Z-
    npm verbose logfile /home/USER/.npm/_logs/2026-07-15T13_01_19_938Z-debug-0.log
    (node:822917) [DEP0169] DeprecationWarning: `url.parse()` behavior is not standardized and prone to errors that have security implications. Use the WHATWG URL API instead. CVEs are not issued for `url.parse()` vulnerabilities.
    (Use `node --trace-deprecation ...` to show where the warning was created)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@vitejs%2fdevtools 256ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/vite 80ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/@types%2fnode 61ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http cache https://registry.npmjs.org/vite 56ms (cache hit)
    npm http cache https://registry.npmjs.org/@types%2fnode 19ms (cache hit)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/esbuild 194ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/jiti 33ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/less 27ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/sass 27ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/sass-embedded 28ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/stylus 28ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/sugarss 27ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/postcss 27ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/terser 29ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/tsx 27ms (cache revalidated)
    npm http fetch GET 200 https://registry.npmjs.org/yaml 28ms (cache revalidated)
    npm verbose stack TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'explain')
    npm verbose stack     at #explainPeerConflict (/usr/share/nodejs/@npmcli/arborist/lib/arborist/build-ideal-tree.js:1502:29)
    npm verbose stack     at #failPeerConflict (/usr/share/nodejs/@npmcli/arborist/lib/arborist/build-ideal-tree.js:1495:43)
    npm verbose stack     at #loadPeerSet (/usr/share/nodejs/@npmcli/arborist/lib/arborist/build-ideal-tree.js:1462:33)
    npm verbose stack     at async #buildDepStep (/usr/share/nodejs/@npmcli/arborist/lib/arborist/build-ideal-tree.js:978:15)
    npm verbose stack     at async Arborist.buildIdealTree (/usr/share/nodejs/@npmcli/arborist/lib/arborist/build-ideal-tree.js:178:7)
    npm verbose stack     at async Promise.all (index 1)
    npm verbose stack     at async Arborist.reify (/usr/share/nodejs/@npmcli/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js:112:5)
    npm verbose stack     at async Install.exec (/usr/share/nodejs/npm/lib/commands/install.js:157:5)
    npm verbose stack     at async Npm.exec (/usr/share/nodejs/npm/lib/npm.js:193:9)
    npm verbose stack     at async module.exports (/usr/share/nodejs/npm/lib/cli/entry.js:67:5)
    npm error Cannot read properties of null (reading 'explain')
    npm verbose cwd /tmp/crash
    npm verbose os Linux 7.0.12+deb14.1-amd64
    npm verbose node v24.18.0
    npm verbose npm  v11.16.0
    npm verbose exit 1
    npm verbose code 1
    npm error A complete log of this run can be found in: /home/USER/.npm/_logs/2026-07-15T13_01_19_938Z-debug-0.log
    

    This is with npm and node installed via apt on a debian testing:

    $ apt list npm nodejs
    nodejs/testing,now 24.18.0+dfsg+~cs24.13.2-1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
    npm/testing,now 11.16.0+ds2-1 all [installed]
    
26. manzoorwanijk commented on Jul 15, 2026

    

    manzoorwanijk

    on Jul 15, 2026

    Last edited by manzoorwanijk

    Contributor

    More actions

    I have a reproducer for this and/or #5222. This link is valid for one month: https://files.ptb-test.opndsk.de/s/r5xk6kYgYFqKtEM

    Did you try with npm v11.18?

    Also, can you please create a GitHub repo for the code you want to share? It's hard to trust a compressed file.
27. martinrrm

    closed this as completedin 74eff59on Jul 27, 2026
28. pull

    added a commit that references this issue on Jul 27, 2026

    fix(arborist): avoid crash when peer back-off detaches a node (npm#9770)

    ...

    This issue will close once commit 74eff59 is merged into the 'latest' branch.

    74eff59
29. typebulb

    added a commit that references this issue on Aug 9, 2026

    Launch the installed binary instead of npx; release 0.3.8

    ...

    4e1af05