* fix(desktop): resolve electronDist dynamically + self-heal blocked installs
Supersedes the static-path approach (#48081) and the install-step self-heal
(#48082) with a fix that removes the whole failure class instead of chasing each
symptom. Three distinct faults converged into the June desktop-build outage; this
closes all three.
Root cause (the part #48081 left open — "Gap B"):
build.electronDist was a static relative path in apps/desktop/package.json, but
npm workspace hoisting is NOT deterministic — depending on the npm version and
what else is installed, npm nests the workspace-only electron devDep under
apps/desktop/node_modules/electron OR hoists it to the repo root. A static path
matches only one layout, so a clean install intermittently fails with "The
specified electronDist does not exist". #48081 re-pointed the path at the
nested layout (correct today) but electron-builder reads electronDist
STATICALLY, so any future hoist change silently breaks it again — only caught
by a CI invariant, never self-corrected.
Fix:
- scripts/run-electron-builder.cjs: resolve electron the way Node's runtime does
— require.resolve("electron/package.json") walks node_modules from the desktop
project upward and finds electron wherever npm actually put it. The path can
never drift out of sync with the install layout again, on any OS/npm version.
* dist present -> pass -c.electronDist=<abs>/dist so electron-builder reuses
the unpacked runtime (keeps the #38673 fast path that dodges the 26.8.x
missing-binary re-unpack bug).
* dist absent -> omit electronDist; electron-builder fetches Electron itself
via @electron/get honoring electronVersion + ELECTRON_MIRROR.
package.json: builder script now runs the wrapper; the static build.electronDist
is removed (the resolver owns it).
- main.py / install.sh / install.ps1: on a dependency-install failure where the
electron package staged but its dist is missing (electron's install.js
process.exit(1) on a blocked/throttled binary download — #47266/#47917/#48021),
repopulate the dist via electron's downloader (canonical, then npmmirror.com)
and CONTINUE to the build instead of aborting. npm runs postinstall LAST, so
the only casualty is electron/dist; bailing here is what made the pack-time
mirror self-heal unreachable on a blocked network. Hard-fail only when electron
never staged at all (a genuine dependency error).
- The pack-time mirror fallback now retries the build even when the pre-fetch
can't populate the dist: the wrapper lets electron-builder download Electron
itself via the mirror, so the retry is no longer a no-op (it was, when
electronDist was a static path).
The exact 40.10.2 pin (already on main) keeps the third mode — the native
@electron-internal/extract-zip win32 binding that 40.10.3/40.10.4 ship without a
published prebuild — from recurring.
Tests:
- test_desktop_electron_pin.py: replace the static-path-matches-lockfile
invariant with contracts that there is no hardcoded electronDist to drift, the
builder script routes through the resolver, and the resolver uses Node module
resolution + injects -c.electronDist.
- test_gui_command.py: install-failure self-heal continues to build; genuine
(electron-never-staged) install failure still hard-fails; pack retries under
the mirror even when the pre-fetch is blocked.
Salvages/supersedes the overlapping community work in #48003 (sitkarev),
#48012 (omegazheng), #48033 (james47kjv), and #48082.
Co-authored-by: sitkarev <59806492+sitkarev@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: omegazheng <zheng@omegasys.eu>
Co-authored-by: james47kjv <220877172+james47kjv@users.noreply.github.com>
* fix(desktop): narrow Electron self-heal to real missing-dist failures
Follow-up on #48091 to remove the remaining misdiagnosis risk from the
installer/build fallback path (#46785 concern): only take the Electron
repair/retry path when Electron's package files are staged and dist is actually
missing/corrupt.
- main.py: add _electron_pkg_staged_missing_dist() and use it to gate install
failure recovery; fail fast for unrelated npm install errors.
- main.py/install.sh/install.ps1: run cache purge + retry only when dist is
missing; do not retry unrelated tsc/vite/build failures under an
Electron-specific narrative.
- install.sh/install.ps1: tighten install-stage self-heal guard to require both
package.json + install.js and missing dist.
- tests: add coverage that install failure hard-fails when Electron dist already
exists, and update retry test to reflect the tightened recovery condition.
Validation:
- Python tests: 64 passed
- install.sh-related tests included in the run
- Real mac build on this machine:
- npm ci at repo root: success
- cd apps/desktop && npm run pack: success
- electron-builder packaged darwin arm64 and used custom unpacked Electron dist
* refactor(desktop): trim electron self-heal helpers and comments
Deduplicate mirror-retry into _try_redownload_electron_dist / shell
counterparts; shorten wrapper and install-script commentary without
changing recovery semantics.
---------
Co-authored-by: sitkarev <59806492+sitkarev@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: omegazheng <zheng@omegasys.eu>
Co-authored-by: james47kjv <220877172+james47kjv@users.noreply.github.com>
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