Node-sass: latest node and npm result in node-sass from being installed -g due to permissions

[jdcrecur]

• NPM version (npm -v):
  5.0.3 & 5.3.0
• Node version (node -v):
  8.1.4
• Node Process (node -p process.versions):

{ http_parser: '2.7.0',
  node: '8.1.4',
  v8: '5.8.283.41',
  uv: '1.12.0',
  zlib: '1.2.11',
  ares: '1.10.1-DEV',
  modules: '57',
  openssl: '1.0.2l',
  icu: '59.1',
  unicode: '9.0',
  cldr: '31.0.1',
  tz: '2017b' }

• Node Platform (node -p process.platform):
  linux (Linux Mint latest)
• Node architecture (node -p process.arch):
  x64
• node-sass version (node -p "require('node-sass').info"):

node-sass   4.5.3   (Wrapper)   [JavaScript]
libsass     3.5.0.beta.2    (Sass Compiler) [C/C++]

• npm node-sass versions (npm ls node-sass):

/usr/lib
└── [email protected] 

When encountering a syntax, or compilation issue:

• Open an issue on LibSass. You
  may link it back here, but any change will be required there, not here

If you delete this text without following it, your issue will be closed.

I first encountered this issue this morning when installing an npm package that requires node-sass. The npm pakage is installed gloablly and named quilk (https://www.npmjs.com/package/quilk) .

The install was on a linux mint desktop with a fresh install of node 8.1.4.

npm install -g quilk, most of its dependencies installed seemingly ok with the exception of node-sass. When it came to installing node-sass it started spewing out in a loop lines like this (baring in mind i ran all of this as root):

npm install -g quilk
npm WARN deprecated [email protected]: Use uuid module instead
/usr/bin/quilk -> /usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/bin/quilk.js

> [email protected] install /usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass
> node scripts/install.js

Unable to save binary /usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/vendor/linux-x64-57 : { Error: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/vendor'
    at Object.fs.mkdirSync (fs.js:890:18)
    at sync (/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/mkdirp/index.js:71:13)
    at Function.sync (/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/mkdirp/index.js:77:24)
    at checkAndDownloadBinary (/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/scripts/install.js:111:11)
    at Object.<anonymous> (/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/scripts/install.js:154:1)
    at Module._compile (module.js:569:30)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:580:10)
    at Module.load (module.js:503:32)
    at tryModuleLoad (module.js:466:12)
    at Function.Module._load (module.js:458:3)
  errno: -13,
  code: 'EACCES',
  syscall: 'mkdir',
  path: '/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/vendor' }

> [email protected] postinstall /usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass
> node scripts/build.js

Building: /usr/bin/nodejs /usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-gyp/bin/node-gyp.js rebuild --verbose --libsass_ext= --libsass_cflags= --libsass_ldflags= --libsass_library=

...

gyp verb install version not already installed, continuing with install 8.1.4
gyp verb ensuring nodedir is created /usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
gyp verb tmpdir == cwd automatically will remove dev files after to save disk space
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8.1.4"
gyp verb install installing version: 8.1.4
gyp verb install --ensure was passed, so won't reinstall if already installed
gyp verb install version not already installed, continuing with install 8.1.4
gyp verb ensuring nodedir is created /usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
gyp verb tmpdir == cwd automatically will remove dev files after to save disk space
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8.1.4"
gyp verb install installing version: 8.1.4
gyp verb install --ensure was passed, so won't reinstall if already installed
gyp verb install version not already installed, continuing with install 8.1.4
gyp verb ensuring nodedir is created /usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
gyp verb tmpdir == cwd automatically will remove dev files after to save disk space
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8.1.4"
gyp verb install installing version: 8.1.4
gyp verb install --ensure was passed, so won't reinstall if already installed
gyp verb install version not already installed, continuing with install 8.1.4
gyp verb ensuring nodedir is created /usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/quilk/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
gyp verb tmpdir == cwd automatically will remove dev files after to save disk space
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8.1.4"
gyp verb install installing version: 8.1.4
gyp verb install --ensure was passed, so won't reinstall if already installed
gyp verb install version not already installed, continuing with install 8.1.4

Before assuming this was the fault of node-sass, i removed the quilk folder in the global node_modules and then tried to sudo npm install node-sass -g. I got pretty much the exact same result:

npm install -g node-sass
/usr/bin/node-sass -> /usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/bin/node-sass

> [email protected] install /usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass
> node scripts/install.js

Unable to save binary /usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/vendor/linux-x64-57 : { Error: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/vendor'
    at Object.fs.mkdirSync (fs.js:890:18)
    at sync (/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/node_modules/mkdirp/index.js:71:13)
    at Function.sync (/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/node_modules/mkdirp/index.js:77:24)
    at checkAndDownloadBinary (/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/scripts/install.js:111:11)
    at Object.<anonymous> (/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/scripts/install.js:154:1)
    at Module._compile (module.js:569:30)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:580:10)
    at Module.load (module.js:503:32)
    at tryModuleLoad (module.js:466:12)
    at Function.Module._load (module.js:458:3)
  errno: -13,
  code: 'EACCES',
  syscall: 'mkdir',
  path: '/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/vendor' }

> [email protected] postinstall /usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass
> node scripts/build.js

Building: /usr/bin/nodejs /usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/node_modules/node-gyp/bin/node-gyp.js rebuild --verbose --libsass_ext= --libsass_cflags= --libsass_ldflags= --libsass_library=
gyp info it worked if it ends with ok
gyp verb cli [ '/usr/bin/nodejs',
gyp verb cli   '/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/node_modules/node-gyp/bin/node-gyp.js',
gyp verb cli   'rebuild',
gyp verb cli   '--verbose',
gyp verb cli   '--libsass_ext=',
gyp verb cli   '--libsass_cflags=',
gyp verb cli   '--libsass_ldflags=',
gyp verb cli   '--libsass_library=' ]
gyp info using [email protected]
gyp info using [email protected] | linux | x64
gyp verb command rebuild []
gyp verb command clean []
gyp verb clean removing "build" directory
gyp verb command configure []
gyp verb check python checking for Python executable "python2" in the PATH
gyp verb `which` succeeded python2 /usr/bin/python2
gyp verb check python version `/usr/bin/python2 -c "import platform; print(platform.python_version());"` returned: "2.7.12\n"
gyp verb get node dir no --target version specified, falling back to host node version: 8.1.4
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8.1.4"
gyp verb install installing version: 8.1.4
gyp verb install --ensure was passed, so won't reinstall if already installed
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/root/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
gyp verb tmpdir == cwd automatically will remove dev files after to save disk space
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8.1.4"
gyp verb install installing version: 8.1.4
gyp verb install --ensure was passed, so won't reinstall if already installed
gyp verb install version not already installed, continuing with install 8.1.4
gyp verb ensuring nodedir is created /usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
gyp verb tmpdir == cwd automatically will remove dev files after to save disk space
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8.1.4"
gyp verb install installing version: 8.1.4
gyp verb install --ensure was passed, so won't reinstall if already installed
gyp verb install version not already installed, continuing with install 8.1.4
gyp verb ensuring nodedir is created /usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
gyp verb tmpdir == cwd automatically will remove dev files after to save disk space
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8.1.4"
gyp verb install installing version: 8.1.4
gyp verb install --ensure was passed, so won't reinstall if already installed
gyp verb install version not already installed, continuing with install 8.1.4
gyp verb ensuring nodedir is created /usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
gyp verb tmpdir == cwd automatically will remove dev files after to save disk space
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8.1.4"
gyp verb install installing version: 8.1.4
gyp verb install --ensure was passed, so won't reinstall if already installed
gyp verb install version not already installed, continuing with install 8.1.4
gyp verb ensuring nodedir is created /usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
gyp verb tmpdir == cwd automatically will remove dev files after to save disk space
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8.1.4"
gyp verb install installing version: 8.1.4
gyp verb install --ensure was passed, so won't reinstall if already installed
gyp verb install version not already installed, continuing with install 8.1.4
gyp verb ensuring nodedir is created /usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
gyp verb tmpdir == cwd automatically will remove dev files after to save disk space
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8.1.4"
gyp verb install installing version: 8.1.4
gyp verb install --ensure was passed, so won't reinstall if already installed
gyp verb install version not already installed, continuing with install 8.1.4
gyp verb ensuring nodedir is created /usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
gyp verb tmpdir == cwd automatically will remove dev files after to save disk space
gyp verb command install [ '8.1.4' ]
gyp verb install input version string "8

I tried this with both npm default install of 5.0.3 and updating it to npm 5.3.0, both got the same result. Root doesn't have access to the global folder, ls -la reveals the permissions are my local user john.

Downgrading node to node 6.11.1 and npm 3.10.10 and node-sass installs globally first time without any issue, as does the npm package quilk which uses node-sass.

Without being one of the developers of node-sass or npm it is quite hard for me to be able to determine if this is an issue with npm or node-sass. So, i will be pointing the guys from npm to this issue.

Thanks,
John

[xzyfer]

npm runs scripts as a special user for security reasons.

```
gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp/8.1.4"
gyp WARN EACCES attempting to reinstall using temporary dev dir "/usr/lib/node_modules/node-sass/.node-gyp"
````

Since you're running npm scripts as root you'll need to use the --unsafe-perm flag. Also make sure you're running the latest npm@5 as there was a recent bug fix in this area.

[jdcrecur]

@xzyfer
I just wiped node off my machine once again and forcefully removed the /user/lib/node_modules folder. Reinstalled 8 and the latest npm 5.3.0.

I then ran:

npm install -g --unsafe-perms node-sass

But i got the exact same results as before, the permissions loop.

[xzyfer]

We don't support installing node-sass globally. There are all kinds of permission issues. If you want it globally I recommend trying npx.

npx node-sass ....

npx comes packaged by default as part of [email protected]

[jdcrecur]

I am not trying to install node-sass globally, but trying to install a package globally that uses node-sass.

Up until the latest npm release it always worked perfectly on linux/mac and windows

[xzyfer]

Same difference. Nothing regarding installations has changed in a while. I
suggest experimenting with previous node and/or npm versions to find the
culprit. Permission issues are very much out of our control.

On 19 Jul. 2017 1:53 am, "John" [e-mail] wrote:

I am not trying to install node-sass globally, but trying to install a
package globally that uses node-sass.

Up until the latest npm release it always worked perfectly on linux/mac
and windows

—
You are receiving this because you were mentioned.
Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub
https://github.com/sass/node-sass/issues/2045#issuecomment-316109100,
or mute the thread
https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAjZWLckzvpAgdiyMpz6p32x05hsvyTCks5sPNTfgaJpZM4ObBio
.

[jdcrecur]

OK, shame.. as up until node8 it worked flawlessly. I emailed npm who said they will be following this thread.

As such, i noticed one thing. On my linux box running node 8, all the permissions for global packages were added with the permissions (where my user is john):
john:john

But on node < 8:
nobody:john

This is the only main difference i can see which is now breaking quilk on linux. I imagine if i added root to group john this would resolve the issue, but i don't understand why npm changed this. Surely this will break global packages installed on machines with multiple users too.... :/

[nschonni]

@jdcrecur that would be something to raise with NPM

[wibimaster]

It's --unsafe-perm and not --unsafe-perms !
After one hour now it works...

[nschonni]

Thanks @wibimaster, I've updated @xzyfer original comment about that, but left the other references since they represent people debugging with the wrong term.