Plugin requires Bun but doesn't install it automatically - unclear error message

[abkrim]

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📋 System Summary:
Claude-mem: v9.0.0
Claude Code: not installed or not in PATH
Platform: macOS 26.2 (arm64)
Worker: Not running

Context

After installing the MCP plugin using the marketplace commands, multiple errors appeared when restarting the application.

Initial Errors

The first errors that appeared were:

SessionStart:startup says: Plugin hook error: /bin/sh: bun: command not found

This error repeated three times, indicating that the system is looking for the bun runtime but cannot find it installed in the system PATH.

Log Analysis

When reviewing the plugin logs at /Users/abkrim/.claude-mem/logs/claude-mem-2026-01-06.log, the following issues were identified:

1. Worker unavailable: The MCP server started correctly, but the associated Worker is not available:

   [WARN] Worker not available {"workerUrl":"http://127.0.0.1:37777"}
   [WARN] Tools will fail until Worker is started
   

2. Missing package.json: When trying to run npm run worker:restart, it was found that the package.json file does not exist in the configuration directory:

   npm error enoent Could not read package.json: Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, 
   open '/Users/abkrim/.claude-mem/package.json'
   

Root Cause

The plugin claude-mem requires Bun as a dependency to run the worker, but:

1. Bun is not installed automatically during plugin installation
2. The error message Plugin hook error: /bin/sh: bun: command not found is not clear about the missing dependency
3. There is no visible documentation about this requirement in the installation process

Environment Details

• Claude-mem version: v9.0.0
• Platform: macOS 26.2 (arm64 / Apple Silicon)
• Node.js: v25.2.1
• NPM: v11.6.2
• Installation method: Claude Code marketplace

Solution Applied

The issue was resolved by manually installing Bun:

# Install Bun using Homebrew (recommended for macOS)
brew tap oven-sh/bun
brew install bun

# Restart the worker
cd ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack
npm run worker:restart

After installing Bun, the worker started successfully:

Worker: Running (PID 97486, port 37777)

Suggestions for Improvement

1. Auto-install Bun: Include Bun installation as part of the plugin setup process, or at least check for its presence and provide clear installation instructions
2. Better error messages: Improve the error message to clearly indicate that Bun is missing and provide installation instructions
3. Documentation: Add a prominent note in the README/installation docs that Bun is a prerequisite
4. Installation check: Consider adding a pre-flight check during plugin installation that detects if Bun is installed and shows platform-specific installation commands if missing

Additional Notes

The plugin works perfectly after installing Bun. This is purely a UX/installation issue that could confuse users who are not familiar with the Bun runtime requirement.

[github-actions]

The GitHub issue highlights problems users face when installing and running the claude-mem plugin, which requires the Bun runtime but does not install it automatically or provide clear guidance on its necessity. After installation via marketplace commands, the user encountered errors indicating that Bun was not found in the system PATH, alongside other issues such as a missing package.json file and an unavailable worker. The problem was resolved by manually installing Bun using Homebrew and restarting the worker, which then functioned as expected. To improve user experience, suggestions include auto-installing Bun during setup, providing clearer error messages about its absence, adding detailed documentation about dependencies, and conducting pre-flight checks to verify required components. Ultimately, while the plugin functions correctly once Bun is installed, the lack of streamlined installation procedures and clear communication could frustrate users unfamiliar with Bun.

[schauppi]

thx - this fix worked for me on mac.

[rollecode]

Noticed the same issue on Arch Linux:

Flooding in claude code:

  ⎿ UserPromptSubmit says: Plugin hook error: /bin/sh: line 1: bun: command not
    found

  ⎿ PostToolUse:TodoWrite says: Plugin hook error: /bin/sh: line 1: bun: command
     not found
  ⎿ PostToolUse:TodoWrite says: Plugin hook error: /bin/sh: line 1: bun: command
     not found

Solution:

# Install bun
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
source $HOME/.bash_profile

# Restart the worker
cd ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack
npm run worker:restart

Restart your old terminals and start claude again and it should work. The market install command needs to be fixed to be idempotent and handle dependencies automatically.

[thedotmack]

this is being addressed in next release, please update to 9.0.2 for now, and 9.0.3 coming shortly

[DdangJin]

@thedotmack It still exists in version 9.0.5.