npm install fails on an uglify-js folder that is emptying during its execution

Question

I'm entering a project where npm produces an issue for a long time, and none have the knowledge of when and why it appeared. I would like to have some clues on where (or what) to search.

a simple mvn clean install performs an npm install after having installed the npm plugin.

I can see that his work involves the creation (or the presence) of a link that will makes a directory
target/node/node_modules/uglify-js targeting ~/front-end/uglify-js/

this last one appearing to be a source folder (?) of our project, or something needed by npm (I don't know uglify myself). As I can see:

find  ~/front-end/target/node/node_modules -type l -ls
3096224744204072      0 lrwxrwxrwx   1 me  1049089       101 Oct 18 09:20 /c/Users/front-end/target/node/node_modules/uglify-js -> /c/Users/front-end/uglify-js/

That folder ~/front-end/uglify-js/ is initially carrying files package.json , index.js and link-package.js

But when npm install takes place, it fails on an addLocal internal step.

[INFO] --- frontend-maven-plugin:1.3:npm (npm install) @ front-end ---
[DEBUG] Configuring mojo com.github.eirslett:frontend-maven-plugin:1.3:npm from plugin realm ClassRealm[plugin>com.github.eirslett:frontend-maven-plugin:1.3, parent: sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader@4e25154f]
[DEBUG] Configuring mojo 'com.github.eirslett:frontend-maven-plugin:1.3:npm' with basic configurator -->
[DEBUG]   (f) arguments = install
[DEBUG]   (f) installDirectory = C:\Users\front-end\target
[DEBUG]   (f) npmInheritsProxyConfigFromMaven = true
[DEBUG]   (f) project = MavenProject: com.front-end:front-end:10.7.14-xxx_yyyyy @ C:\Users\front-end\pom.xml
[DEBUG]   (f) repositorySystemSession = org.eclipse.aether.DefaultRepositorySystemSession@585c13de
[DEBUG]   (f) session = org.apache.maven.execution.MavenSession@187eb9a8
[DEBUG]   (f) skip = false
[DEBUG]   (f) skipTests = false
[DEBUG]   (f) workingDirectory = C:\Users\front-end
[DEBUG]   (f) execution = com.github.eirslett:frontend-maven-plugin:1.3:npm {execution: npm install}
[DEBUG] -- end configuration --
[INFO] Running 'npm install' in C:\Users\front-end
[ERROR] npm ERR! addLocal Could not install C:\Users\front-end\uglify-js
[ERROR] npm ERR! Windows_NT 10.0.18363
[ERROR] npm ERR! argv "C:\\Users\\front-end\\target\\node\\node.exe" "C:\\Users\\front-end\\target\\node\\node_modules\\npm\\bin\\npm-cli.js" "install"
[ERROR] npm ERR! node v10.24.1
[ERROR] npm ERR! npm  v2.15.12
[ERROR] npm ERR! code EISDIR
[ERROR] npm ERR! errno -4068
[ERROR] npm ERR! syscall read
[ERROR]
[ERROR] npm ERR! eisdir EISDIR: illegal operation on a directory, read
[ERROR] npm ERR! eisdir This is most likely not a problem with npm itself
[ERROR] npm ERR! eisdir and is related to npm not being able to find a package.json in
[ERROR] npm ERR! eisdir a package you are trying to install.

What I can see after this failure happens, it's that there is an existing folder ~/front-end/uglify-js/ on my disk, but that it is now empty: it has been recreated.
And the npm-debug.log gives no other information than the one upper.

If I restore the missing files ( package.json , index.js , link-package.js ) in that directory and retry mvn clean install this problem won't reproduce.
As if it was occurring only one time per day? Humm... Unsure...

Our node and npm version are: node v10.24.1 and npm v2.15.12 .

Answer 1

We eventually found that it's a Maven issue that is the cause of our trouble.

It doesn't honor it's <followSymLinks>false</followSymLinks> settings and follows it whatever, and during the removal of a link file in target directory, npm causes (by Maven ) the deletion of the file source of the link.