npm start fail for node 8.0.0 and npm 5.0.1 fresh install

[uxxman]

First of all great work.

Description

npm start fails to start packager after a fresh install. See image below.

Environment

Please run these commands in the project folder and fill in their results:

• npm ls react-native-scripts: 0.0.30
• npm ls react-native: 0.44.0
• npm ls expo: 17.0.0
• node -v: 8.0.0
• npm -v: 5.0.1
• yarn --version: --
• watchman version: --

1. Operating system: ElementoryOS Loki

[prashanthmadi]

I have same issue with node v8 on Mac OS

Edit : works with node v7.10

[anp]

Hi! Thanks so much for the report!

This appears to be an issue with npm5, as I'm able to start the development server via yarn. We'll try to identify a resolution soon! In the meantime, you can workaround this by installing yarn globally.

[brentvatne]

Hello! This is indeed a npm5 issue and I have reported it upstream here: npm/npm#16893

npm5 is currently buggy, I recommend you use npm4 or yarn. (the same recommendation applies for create-react-app).

[cr101]

Same npm5 bug as #2436

x-ref: npm/npm#16839

[mlsks]

I have the same issue on win 7 using npm 5.0.1 Looks like there is a problem with the path -->
11:59:04: Error starting packager: Error: Couldn't start project. Please fix the errors and restart the project. at D:\xdl\src\Project.js:1039:11
I dont have such directory : D:\xdl

[brentvatne]

@mirosa06 - this is a npm bug as I mentioned above (npm/npm#16893), please use an older version of npm (preferably 4.x) or yarn

[sasanazizi]

i have the same issue on ubuntu 16.04 using npm 5.0.2 when i want create a new app with create-react-native-app , result is :
`

---

ERROR: npm 5 is not supported yet

---

It looks like you're using npm 5 which was recently released.

Create React Native App doesn't work with npm 5 yet, unfortunately. We
recommend using npm 4 or yarn until some bugs are resolved.

You can follow the known issues with npm 5 at:
npm/npm#16991

---

`

[brentvatne]

@sasanazizi - this is a known issue, we say explicitly in README that you cannot use npm5 with create-react-native-app. I don't recommend using npm5 at all right now (as of writing, latest version is 5.0.3) because it is too buggy

[13hoop]

hi
what about yarn? still same issues,info:

yarn run v0.23.4
$ react-native-scripts ios
20:05:59: Starting packager...
20:05:59: Error starting packager: Error: Couldn't start project. Please fix the errors and restart the project.
    at /xdl/src/Project.js:1039:11
    at Generator.next (<anonymous>)
    at step (/Users/xxx/gitHub Code/YRReactNative/AwesomeProject/node_modules/xdl/build/Project.js:1461:191)
    at /Users/xxx/gitHub Code/YRReactNative/AwesomeProject/node_modules/xdl/build/Project.js:1461:361
    at <anonymous>
error Command failed with exit code 1.

react-native-cli: 2.0.1
react-native: 0.44.3
yarn: 0.23.4
node: 8.0.0
expo: 17.0.0

[brentvatne]

@13hoop - yarn works but you need to re-create the project or delete node_modules and run yarn install again. the problem with npm5 is that it installs the dependencies incorrectly when you create the project.

[aswerdlow935]

Is there an easy way to downgrade from npm 5.0.3 to 4 that works with react native?

[brentvatne]

@aswerdlow935 - npm i -g npm@4.6.1 - then install create-react-native-app again and create a project as per readme intructions

[piotr-cz]

I have same problem as @13hoop:
I installed create-react-native-app using yarn and yarn start shows that error about using npm version 5.0.3, although create-react-native-app is not installed trough npm but yarn.

[piotr-cz]

Downgrading npm to 4.6.1 fixed the issue and I can start a project with yarn start.

Looks like the start script is not checking if the project has been build by yarn and just checks for global npm version leading to false negative

[brentvatne]

newer versions of npm 5 seem to work, but we don't use them and there may be unexpected bugs as i'm not sure if it's stable yet, so we provide a soft warning.

[maazrk]

Using 'npm install npm@4 -g' solves the problem.

[panuhorsmalahti]

npm 5.3.0 is stable, but is still not supported. Any idea when this issue is going to be fixed?

[piotr-cz]

@panuhorsmalahti I suggest you switch to yarn.
I did so after other problems with npm 5.3, 5.4, 5.2 and 4.6.1.

[panuhorsmalahti]

No, I'm happy with npm 5 and I've had zero problems so far.

[brentvatne]

npm 5.3.0 has a lot of bugs: npm/npm#16991
in particular, this one makes it not work so well with create-react-native-app: npm/npm#16893

this issue isn't going to be fixed in create-react-native-app because it's not a bug in create-react-native-app, it's a bug in npm.

[sgb-io]

Hey maintainers & contributors, great work.

A few months have passed and since the end of October, Node.js 8.x has entered LTS and all users installing node via the website (a vast majority I would assume) are installing this version. This ships with npm 5.

Any new users wanting to get started with (or contribute? support in some way?) create-react-native-app now hit a pretty awful barrier - create-react-native-app doesn't work with new node.js installations :(

As of writing, nodejs 8.9.1 LTS is shipping with npm 5.5.1 (at least on macOS). I haven't researched it very deeply, but are the relevant npm bugs still a no-go for create-react-native-app? It would be great to get an update on this even if it's still a problem.

[ramshankerji]

Hi There, apparently it's now failing for a fresh install. Any idea how to resolve? I can't seem to find an official documentation.

[anp]

@sgb-io as far as I know npm 5's behavior still doesn't work for CRNA. If someone were to come along with a PR adding support there's a good chance of merge, I'd wager, but we're not working actively on it.

[ghost]

Here's the "new React Native dev" experience. Type React Native into Google. Click getting started. Download the recommended way to get started. Follow the recommended instructions. Get "sorry the current version of node/npm is not supported LOL" message in the console. Find dev comments saying they aren't even working on fixing that. Give up on this degenerate ecosystem altogether.

[elmbrent]

How is this still not resolved...

[varunchandran333]

When does it comes??

[treyp]

@brentvatne : As updated in npm/npm#16893, the current version of npm (5.6) seems to correctly handle --save-dev followed by a full npm install. Maybe it's time to officially support npm 5?

After switching to npm 5 and running rm -rf node_modules/ && npm install, I haven't had any problems so far.

[jamesqo]

What is the fix for this if you are using NPM 5? I mean it's the default installation that comes with Node 8.1.0 when you download it from the site. Is it still recommended to downgrade to NPM 4?

[binki]

@jamesqo My workaround is to install a local version of npm4. For example (assuming POSIX-like shell):

$ mkdir ~/npm4-fun
$ pushd ~/npm4-fun
$ npm init -y
$ npm install -S npm@4
$ popd
$ export PATH=~/npm4-fun/node_modules/.bin:${PATH}
$ /path/to/create-react-native-app my-native-app

Don’t forget that all uses of npm in your shell and subshells will now point to your local npm4 version because of the PATH modification. You probably want to exit the shell or use a different shell for your other projects to use npm5 where you can. Or you can avoid the export by invoking create-react-native-app this way:

$ PATH=~/npm4-fun/node_modules/.bin:${PATH} /path/to/create-react-native-app my-native-app

When the scripts are updated to not error out on npm-5 and once you can upgrade to a nodejs version that includes at least npm-5.6, this will no longer be an issue.

[Ajacmac]

Any update on this for npm 5.8? I know March 18 (last comment) isn't that long ago, but I haven't seen any mention of 5.7 or 5.8 in this thread.

Does "this will no longer be an issue" mean that everything works properly, or that it mostly works?

Thanks!

[cleuton]

Yes, it's still a problem with npm 5.8... I had to use NPM 3 & node 7

[mrmcduff]

Is this still an issue with npm 6.0+?

[sebastianovide]

yes it is. We are using npm 3 and node 6