Metro cannot resolve packages whose realpath is in the global virtual store

[mwolson]

• Repro repo: https://github.com/mwolson/tmp-aube-issues
• Repro case: metro-gvs-package-resolve
• aube version: 1.40.0 linux-x64 (2026-08-13)
• Node version: v24.19.0
• Metro version: 0.84.4
• pnpm comparison: 11.21.0

Summary

Isolated aube with the default-on global virtual store links node_modules/<pkg> to $XDG_CACHE_HOME/aube/virtual-store/.... Node resolves that package. Metro 0.84.4 does not.

I first hit this in an Expo 56 app as Unable to resolve "expo/virtual/env" after babel-preset-expo injected that import. The reduced case does not need Expo. Metro fails on is-number itself once the package realpath is outside projectRoot / watchFolders.

This looks like the same GVS incompatibility that disableGlobalVirtualStoreForPackages already handles for next, nuxt, vite, vitepress, and parcel. metro, expo, and react-native are not on that list.

Expected

After aube install --node-linker=isolated --enable-global-virtual-store, Metro.buildGraph resolves is-number the same way Node does.

Actual

Node resolves the package through the GVS realpath. Metro reports:

Unable to resolve module is-number from .../index.js: is-number could not be found within the project or in these directories:
  node_modules

Pointing resolver.extraNodeModules.is-number at the GVS realpath makes Metro list that path and still fail. Adding the same realpath to watchFolders makes Metro succeed.

Repro

git clone https://github.com/mwolson/tmp-aube-issues
cd tmp-aube-issues/metro-gvs-package-resolve
./repro.sh

repro.sh exits non-zero when the issue is present. It also checks the comparisons below and treats unexpected comparison failures as setup errors.

Comparisons

• aube install --node-linker=isolated --disable-global-virtual-store: realpath stays under node_modules/.aube/. Metro succeeds.
• AUBE_NODE_LINKER=hoisted aube install: hoisted mode writes a real node_modules/is-number directory. Metro succeeds.
• Native pnpm 11.21.0 isolated: realpath stays under node_modules/.pnpm/. Metro succeeds.
• Native pnpm with enableGlobalVirtualStore=true: realpath leaves the project and Metro fails the same way.

So this is Metro's file map plus a virtual store that lives outside the project. aube turns that store on by default for local isolated installs. pnpm leaves it off.

aubeshim is not required. I reproduced with aube directly.

Docs I checked

• https://aube.jdx.dev/package-manager/global-virtual-store
• https://aube.jdx.dev/package-manager/node-modules
• https://aube.jdx.dev/troubleshooting
• https://metrobundler.dev/docs/configuration/#watchfolders

Metro's own note: symlink targets inside watchFolders must also be inside watchFolders.

Related aube work: #32 and #101 added the auto-disable list. #117 later dropped names that had no concrete walk-up repro. #754 is isolated config-loader resolution, not this file-map miss.

Ask

Please add expo, react-native, and metro to the default disableGlobalVirtualStoreForPackages list.

The matcher is exact and only looks at direct dependencies. A typical Expo app declares expo and react-native, not metro. metro still belongs on the list for apps that depend on it directly.

Until then, enableGlobalVirtualStore=false or node-linker=hoisted keeps the realpath inside the project. A Metro watchFolders entry for the GVS realpath also works, but those store paths are content-hashed and change between installs, so they are awkward to keep in metro.config.js.

[jdx]

Confirmed and fixed in #1297.

I reproduced this with aube 1.40.0, Node 24.19.0, and Metro 0.84.4. The GVS layout fails exactly as described, while per-project materialization, hoisted mode, and adding the realpath to watchFolders all succeed. Metro 0.87.0 also fails with the out-of-project realpath.

The PR adds expo, react-native, and metro to the default disableGlobalVirtualStoreForPackages list, documents the Metro constraint, and adds regression coverage for all three direct-dependency triggers. I also verified that the expanded list materializes packages under the project and Metro resolves them successfully.

One caveat: explicit --enable-global-virtual-store intentionally overrides the compatibility heuristic, so the forced-GVS step in the repro will continue to demonstrate the upstream Metro limitation. Normal installs containing one of the three package names will auto-disable GVS.

Thanks for the thorough repro and comparison matrix.

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