volta-cli/volta

Should we force download of Node when pinning npm@bundled?

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#724 opened on Apr 29, 2020

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enhancementgood first issue

Description

Currently, if we can't figure out the bundled npm version when running volta pin npm@bundled, we show an error. One legitimate use-case where we wouldn't be able to determine the bundled version, but wouldn't want to show an error, is when the user hasn't downloaded a given version of Node yet, but will the next time they run a Node command. To work around that, @rwjblue suggested that we kick off the auto-download of Node as part of pinning (or installing) npm@bundled. Then we would know for sure that if we can't determine the bundled npm version, we have a true error.

While this would be a difference from pinning npm@<version> or pinning yarn, given that the npm@bundled concept is fundamentally tied to the node version, it makes sense as a deviation. Instead of fetching a specific version of npm or yarn, we fetch the appropriate version of node for the context (most of the time we'll already have it, but just in case).

Contributor guide

Tech stack
rustnodejs
Domain
clitooling
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Rust programmingVolta codebasenpm bundling concept
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
45
Research direction
Investigate the implementation of the `pin` command in Volta, specifically how `npm@bundled` is handled. Look at the logic that determines the bundled npm version when a Node version is not downloaded. The goal is to trigger a download of the required Node version when `npm@bundled` is pinned and the bundled version cannot be determined because Node is missing. Check the existing download mechanism for Node versions and integrate it into the pin flow. The change should be minimal and localized to the pin command's handling of the `bundled` keyword. See if there are any existing tests for this scenario.