ActionHero cannot be installed globally

[evantahler]

If you install actionhero globally npm install -g actionhero you can generate projects and run some of the CLI commands. However, you no longer can run the server (npm start).

“actionhero” (the globally installed binary) has created the API object form /global/actionhero/index.js and has loaded all the initializers and added them there. But then when you hit a file in your local project, it does require('actionhero') In that local file, it loads /project/node_modules/actionhero/index.js, and that file’s .api = {}. (edited)

I think the solution is in every class file rather than a simple require(../index.js) we actually need to check the folder structure of the local environment (project_root) and load from there rather than just the relative index.js

• ActionHero Version: 18.x.x
• Node.js Version: all
• Operating System: all

[evantahler]

Upon much reflection... we should not support this. We should actually throw a warning if actionhero is installed globally.

[evantahler]

This can be accomplished with the detect-installed package

[aurasalexander]

Hey,
I think it's absolutely okay to decide to not support a global npm installation. But instead of adding another dependency tree (detect-installed) just to print a warning for this edge case, I would opt for a clear statement in the documentation.

I know that there is already a hint on this at https://www.actionherojs.com/get-started/, but it's kind of hidden there. I feel like it should be mentioned in the main documentation under https://docs.actionherojs.com.

Therefore I would suggest to insert a subordinate clause in the quickstart section which indicates that a global installation is not supported. Furthermore, you could link to this issue in the existing hint on the get-started page.

[evantahler]

Good ideas!

• actionhero/www.actionherojs.com@0e4d54b