Cli: Catch-All: "npm ERR! cb() never called!"

Created on 8 Nov 2019 · 29Comments · Source: npm/cli

Using this ticket as a catch-all for this type of error. All relevant information about them should be contained in this issue.

  Original bug ticket: [https://npm.community/t/9355](https://npm.community/t/9355)
  Originally filed: 2019-08-07T17:15:54.842Z

From original Issue: https://npm.community/t/9355
Debug log: 2019-08-07T17_07_58_949Z-debug.log
Action triggered: npm audit fix

Platform Info:

$ npm --versions
{ 'next-boilerplate': '1.0.0',
  npm: '6.9.0',
  ares: '1.15.0',
  brotli: '1.0.7',
  cldr: '35.1',
  http_parser: '2.8.0',
  icu: '64.2',
  modules: '64',
  napi: '4',
  nghttp2: '1.34.0',
  node: '10.16.1',
  openssl: '1.1.1c',
  tz: '2019a',
  unicode: '12.1',
  uv: '1.28.0',
  v8: '6.8.275.32-node.54',
  zlib: '1.2.11' }
$ node -p process.platform
linux

Bug Community Release 6.x

Source

darcyclarke

👍1

Most helpful comment

For me, this occurred when I was attempting to npm install over a corporate proxy, through a VPN (actually, the proxy doesn't seem to matter). NPM chokes when a package attempts to download a binary (for example, https://github.com/sass/node-sass/releases/download/v4.13.1/win32-x64-79_binding.node, in my case) during the postinstall step (no idea if it's package dependent).

After turning off the VPN (Global Protect) ~~and the proxy~~ - everything worked without a hitch.

With Proxy and VPN turned ON ❌

$ npm i node-sass
npm ERR! cb() never called!

npm ERR! This is an error with npm itself. Please report this error at:
npm ERR!     <https://npm.community>

npm ERR! A complete log of this run can be found in:
npm ERR!     C:\Users\---\AppData\Roaming\npm-cache\_logs\2020-03-16T23_37_35_801Z-debug.log

2020-03-16T23_37_35_801Z-debug.log

With Proxy & VPN turned OFF ✔

$ npm i node-sass
npm WARN deprecated [email protected]: request has been deprecated, see https://github.com/request/request/issues/3142

> [email protected] install C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass
> node scripts/install.js

Downloading binary from https://github.com/sass/node-sass/releases/download/v4.13.1/win32-x64-79_binding.node
Download complete
Binary saved to C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass\vendor\win32-x64-79\binding.node
Caching binary to C:\Users\---\AppData\Roaming\npm-cache\node-sass\4.13.1\win32-x64-79_binding.node

> [email protected] postinstall C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass
> node scripts/build.js

Binary found at C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass\vendor\win32-x64-79\binding.node
Testing binary
Binary is fine
npm WARN [email protected] No description
npm WARN [email protected] No repository field.

+ [email protected]
added 173 packages from 137 contributors and audited 528 packages in 16.034s

3 packages are looking for funding
  run `npm fund` for details

found 0 vulnerabilities

With Proxy Only ✔

$ npm i node-sass
npm WARN deprecated [email protected]: request has been deprecated, see https://github.com/request/request/issues/3142

> [email protected] install C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass
> node scripts/install.js

Downloading binary from https://github.com/sass/node-sass/releases/download/v4.13.1/win32-x64-79_binding.node
Download complete
Binary saved to C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass\vendor\win32-x64-79\binding.node
Caching binary to C:\Users\---\AppData\Roaming\npm-cache\node-sass\4.13.1\win32-x64-79_binding.node

> [email protected] postinstall C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass
> node scripts/build.js

Binary found at C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass\vendor\win32-x64-79\binding.node
Testing binary
Binary is fine
npm WARN [email protected] No description
npm WARN [email protected] No repository field.

+ [email protected]
added 173 packages from 137 contributors and audited 528 packages in 16.233s

3 packages are looking for funding
  run `npm fund` for details

found 0 vulnerabilities

So, by deductive reasoning, it must have something to do with how the request/response is being handled over the VPN...

I made sure to rm /c/Users/---/AppData/Roaming/npm-cache/node-sass/4.13.1/win32-x64-79_binding.node and start with a new node_modules directory between each test.

I'm generally working from the office, so I only need to deal with the proxy, which doesn't cause an issue. However, now that we're all working from home, I had the chance to run into this... Hopefully it helps, somehow 😅

Version and System Information

Windows 10

$ node --version
v13.11.0
$ npm --version
6.13.7

jrtitus on 17 Mar 2020

👍4 🎉1

All 29 comments

I think we have many reports of the same so these should all be duplicates.

https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/423
https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/425
https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/442
https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/451
https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/455
https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/465

Afaik this is resolved by force-clearing the cache and upgrading / updating to the latest npm version.

DanielRuf on 11 Nov 2019

👍1

DanielRuf on 11 Nov 2019

thanks @DanielRuf for linking all those ❤️

ruyadorno on 11 Nov 2019

489

ruyadorno on 19 Nov 2019

DanielRuf on 8 Dec 2019

🚀1

I guess we can check which version first introduced this (doing a small git bisect) and check the stacktraces for similarities.

DanielRuf on 25 Dec 2019

Following versions were mentioned in the issues:

6.4.1
6.9.0
6.10.2
6.12.1
6.13.1
6.13.4

Now trying to get a reproducible testcase.

DanielRuf on 25 Dec 2019

Relevant changes in the past tolog this error: https://github.com/npm/npm/pull/15716

DanielRuf on 25 Dec 2019

Tests with a local npm 6.13.1 (on macOS):

@vue/cli: not reproducible
npm audit fix: not reproducible
plotly.js: not reproducible
expo-cli: not reproducible

So far it looks like this is caused by other errors which cancel the CLI too early.

I remember that we had this bug also on Ubuntu with the latest version and some packages.

DanielRuf on 25 Dec 2019

I'm experiencing the same error trying to install a company project for development.
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.17134.1184]

Using NVM to switch instances of node/npm
node v10.14.2 (64-bit), npm v6.4.1
node v12.4.0 (64-bit), npm v6.9.0

project was generated with Angular CLI version 8.3.21

[NVM for Windows Setup, Ecor Ventures LLC, ‎Tuesday, ‎August ‎7, ‎2018 9:46:31 PM]

melvinwallerjr on 4 Jan 2020

(note that must be nvm-windows; actual nvm doesn't work on non-WSL Windows, and doesn't distinguish 64-bit)

ljharb on 4 Jan 2020

We're getting this error intermittently in both local development and in our CI system. Happy to add any additional logging that might help. Attached the npm log from a run that just happened on my laptop on my mac -- trying to npm install one of our private packages. Immediately re-running the command worked without issue.

npm install @globalworldwide/km-core@latest
2020-01-04T02_02_56_202Z-debug.log

❯ npm -v
6.13.4
❯ node -v
v13.5.0

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help track this down, would like to kill the issue.

mdouglass on 4 Jan 2020

🚀1

https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/682

DanielRuf on 14 Jan 2020

https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/671

DanielRuf on 14 Jan 2020

https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/665

DanielRuf on 14 Jan 2020

Actions Triggered:

npm audit fix ([email protected] / [email protected])
npm install ([email protected] / [email protected])
sudo npm install -g npm ([email protected] / [email protected])
n/a _likely_ npm i ([email protected] / [email protected]) ([email protected] / [email protected])
npm install ([email protected] / [email protected])
npm install ([email protected] / [email protected])
vue create <app> ([email protected] / [email protected])

Thoughts as triaging:

Seems like there is an error while installing a package that causes this cb() never called! error.
There are 42 issues to triage...
https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/442 original issue references a fix which references updating and cleaning cache to solve issue (updating fixes permissions), cache might indicate problem exists/existed in cacache or pacote
https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/451 seems to have same symptom but cause doesn't seem to be within npm, though it does help point to an issue with while installing a package

mikemimik on 18 Jan 2020

It's shocking how few people know how to use a search bar...

puppy0cam on 4 Feb 2020

Does anyone have ANY idea what might be causing this?

Are there any workarounds?

When I run my npm install locally, on windows 10, everything works fine.

When I run my npm install on dev.azure.com, on a 64bit Amazon Linux/4.13.0 machine, I get the following error :

120982 error cb() never called! 120983 error This is an error with npm itself. Please report this error at: 120984 error <https://npm.community>

I tried upgrading my Node environment from Node 10 to Node 12, as I was also running Node 12 locally, but this did not seem to have any impact whatsoever.

I have no idea what to do with this, and this issue is totally blocking!!

jslegers on 12 Feb 2020

Hey @jslegers sorry to hear you're blocked!

In my initial research into the issue, I noted that the issue https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/442 referenced our community page which had a link to a possible solution for you. Clearing the cache seemed to solve the issue for some. I would suggest giving that a try to see if you can unblock your work.

mikemimik on 17 Feb 2020

Hey @jslegers sorry to hear you're blocked!

In my initial research into the issue, I noted that the issue #442 referenced our community page which had a link to a possible solution for you. Clearing the cache seemed to solve the issue for some. I would suggest giving that a try to see if you can unblock your work.

Thanks for the tip!

I did eventually manage to find a solution on my own.

Apparently, the issue was caused by my making some changes to the local package structure. As part of an ongoing refactoring attempt, I got rid of a one-size-fits-all kind of unscoped package and replaced it with a bunch of small scoped packages. Apparently, this confused NPM and caused the npm ERR! cb() never called! bug.

In seems to have been fixed by deleting my package-lock.json file and pushing that deletion to the remote branch where this issue occurred.

jslegers on 17 Feb 2020

👍1

After turning off the VPN (Global Protect) ~~and the proxy~~ - everything worked without a hitch.

With Proxy and VPN turned ON ❌

$ npm i node-sass
npm ERR! cb() never called!

npm ERR! This is an error with npm itself. Please report this error at:
npm ERR!     <https://npm.community>

npm ERR! A complete log of this run can be found in:
npm ERR!     C:\Users\---\AppData\Roaming\npm-cache\_logs\2020-03-16T23_37_35_801Z-debug.log

2020-03-16T23_37_35_801Z-debug.log

With Proxy & VPN turned OFF ✔

$ npm i node-sass
npm WARN deprecated [email protected]: request has been deprecated, see https://github.com/request/request/issues/3142

> [email protected] install C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass
> node scripts/install.js

Downloading binary from https://github.com/sass/node-sass/releases/download/v4.13.1/win32-x64-79_binding.node
Download complete
Binary saved to C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass\vendor\win32-x64-79\binding.node
Caching binary to C:\Users\---\AppData\Roaming\npm-cache\node-sass\4.13.1\win32-x64-79_binding.node

> [email protected] postinstall C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass
> node scripts/build.js

Binary found at C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass\vendor\win32-x64-79\binding.node
Testing binary
Binary is fine
npm WARN [email protected] No description
npm WARN [email protected] No repository field.

+ [email protected]
added 173 packages from 137 contributors and audited 528 packages in 16.034s

3 packages are looking for funding
  run `npm fund` for details

found 0 vulnerabilities

With Proxy Only ✔

$ npm i node-sass
npm WARN deprecated [email protected]: request has been deprecated, see https://github.com/request/request/issues/3142

> [email protected] install C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass
> node scripts/install.js

Downloading binary from https://github.com/sass/node-sass/releases/download/v4.13.1/win32-x64-79_binding.node
Download complete
Binary saved to C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass\vendor\win32-x64-79\binding.node
Caching binary to C:\Users\---\AppData\Roaming\npm-cache\node-sass\4.13.1\win32-x64-79_binding.node

> [email protected] postinstall C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass
> node scripts/build.js

Binary found at C:\Users\---\Desktop\foo\node_modules\node-sass\vendor\win32-x64-79\binding.node
Testing binary
Binary is fine
npm WARN [email protected] No description
npm WARN [email protected] No repository field.

+ [email protected]
added 173 packages from 137 contributors and audited 528 packages in 16.233s

3 packages are looking for funding
  run `npm fund` for details

found 0 vulnerabilities

So, by deductive reasoning, it must have something to do with how the request/response is being handled over the VPN...

I made sure to rm /c/Users/---/AppData/Roaming/npm-cache/node-sass/4.13.1/win32-x64-79_binding.node and start with a new node_modules directory between each test.

Version and System Information

Windows 10

$ node --version
v13.11.0
$ npm --version
6.13.7

jrtitus on 17 Mar 2020

👍4 🎉1

darcyclarke closed this vor 1 Stunde

@darcyclarke is this issue resolved by some commit?

DanielRuf on 24 Mar 2020

@DanielRuf apologies. This got caught up in a triage of issues in ZenHub (our project management system). I've reopened accordingly.

darcyclarke on 24 Mar 2020

Had same issue, trying to install blank expo init project. Node 13.12.0, npm 6.14.5
For me seems, like adding my project folder to Windows Defender exclusions helped.
Settings->Update and Security->Windows Security->Virus & threat protection -> Virus & threat protection settings -> Exclusions and I have added whole folder to it.

gbkwiatt on 13 May 2020

Did this cause the issue? I think many do not have an antivirus or Windows 10. Happens also on Linux and macOS without any realtime antivirus scanner.

In general I disable antivirus while installing to get faster installs as it scans every single file on access / creation - with disabled scripts and a full scan afterwards it works then.

DanielRuf on 13 May 2020

Bit sure, but I've tried multiple times with same error, then I did that and it helped. Might be also something to do with indexing no idea.

gbkwiatt on 13 May 2020

While having the https-proxy value set in npm config set, but not being on the network that had the proxy, I was getting this error. If I deleted the proxy value, things worked again. It might be a good idea to include a suggestion that you check the proxy settings for npm if people are encountering this error.

npm version: 6.17.4
node version: 12.18.3
nvm version: 0.35.3

malisbad on 5 Aug 2020

👀1

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pkrasicki on 31 Aug 2020

We get this sometimes in Windows WSL2

npm version: 6.14.8
command. npm --unsafe-perm ci
but on the same system there are also some ssh/git connection-issues in WSL2 - WSL#4690, so maybe it's not an npm issue in our case