Windows Installation Guide (Node.js 24 → Node.js 22, PM2, npm ci & Common Fixes)

[JayFromIndonesia]

OpenWA Installation Guide (Windows 10)

This document summarizes the installation process, problems encountered, and solutions that finally worked on Windows.

---

Environment

Item	Version
OS	Windows 10 Pro x64
Git	2.55.0.windows.3
Node.js (Initial)	24.18.0
Node.js (Working)	22.23.1
npm	12.x
OpenWA (Initial)	v0.11.0
OpenWA (Working)	v0.10.10

---

Initial Installation (v0.11.0)

Step 1

Download OpenWA v0.11.0

https://github.com/rmyndharis/OpenWA/releases

Extract to

C:\WA_SERVER\OpenWA

---

Step 2

Install dependencies

npm install

Problem

Installation failed with

npm ERR! code EALLOWGIT

Fetching packages of type "git" have been disabled

Dependency causing the problem:

git+ssh://git@github.com/whiskeysockets/libsignal-node.git

---

Solution 1

Verify Git installation

git --version

Expected output

git version 2.55.0.windows.3

---

Check npm configuration

npm config get allow-git

Output

none

---

Enable Git packages

npm config set allow-git all

---

Configure Git to use HTTPS instead of SSH

git config --global url."https://github.com/".insteadOf "ssh://git@github.com/"
git config --global --add url."https://github.com/".insteadOf "git@github.com:"

---

Run installation again

npm install

---

Problem 2

Installation still failed.

Checking Node version

node -v

Output

v24.18.0

Although Node 22 was already installed, Windows PATH was still pointing to Node 24.

---

Solution 2

Switch Node.js to v22.

Verify

node -v

Output

v22.23.1

---

Run installation again

npm install

Installation completed but another warning appeared.

---

Problem 3

patch-wwebjs-201832:

unexpected patch artifact(s)

src\structures\Contact.js.rej

The installation completed successfully but generated

Contact.js.rej

---

Downgrade to v0.10.10

Since v0.11.0 still produced patch issues, testing continued using v0.10.10.

Download

OpenWA v0.10.10

---

Verify version

node -p "require('./package.json').version"

Output

0.10.10

---

Clean Installation

Instead of

npm install

Use

npm ci

because package-lock.json already exists.

---

Installation output

added 1075 packages

However

patch-wwebjs-201832

unexpected patch artifact(s)

Contact.js.rej

still appeared.

Fortunately this warning did not prevent the application from running.

---

Running OpenWA

Production mode

npm run prod

Application started successfully.

---

Running with PM2

Install PM2

npm install -g pm2

---

Incorrect

pm2 start npm --name OpenWA -- run prod

On Windows this resulted in

SyntaxError: Unexpected token ':'

C:\LARAGON\BIN\NODEJS\NODE-V22\NPM.CMD

because PM2 tried to execute

npm.cmd

as a JavaScript file.

---

Working Solution

Run npm through cmd.exe or use an ecosystem configuration.

Example

pm2 start cmd --name OpenWA -- /c npm run prod

or

ecosystem.config.cjs

with

module.exports = {
  apps: [
    {
      name: "OpenWA",
      cwd: "C:/WA_SERVER/OpenWA",
      script: "C:/Windows/System32/cmd.exe",
      args: '/d /s /c "npm run prod"',
      interpreter: "none",
      autorestart: true,
      watch: false
    }
  ]
}

Start

pm2 start ecosystem.config.cjs

---

Current Working Environment

Item	Version
OpenWA	v0.10.10
Node.js	22.23.1
npm	12.x
PM2	Latest
Status	Working

---

Remaining Issue

Installation still creates

node_modules/whatsapp-web.js/src/structures/Contact.js.rej

The application still runs correctly, suggesting the patch is executed in best-effort mode.

It may be worth investigating whether the patch is no longer compatible with the current whatsapp-web.js version or if the reject file can be safely ignored.

---

Summary

Problem	Status
EALLOWGIT	Fixed
Git SSH dependency	Fixed
Node.js 24 compatibility	Switched to Node.js 22
npm install	Working
npm ci	Working
OpenWA v0.10.10	Working
PM2 Windows	Working with cmd.exe/ecosystem
Contact.js.rej	Still generated (non-blocking)