Fix npm install failures with automatic retry and silent output (#64)

* Initial plan

* Initial investigation: identified npm install failure issue

Co-authored-by: thedotmack <683968+thedotmack@users.noreply.github.com>

* Add retry logic and better error handling to smart-install

Co-authored-by: thedotmack <683968+thedotmack@users.noreply.github.com>

* Fix spacing inconsistency in log messages

Co-authored-by: thedotmack <683968+thedotmack@users.noreply.github.com>

* Refactor worker startup check for better readability

Co-authored-by: thedotmack <683968+thedotmack@users.noreply.github.com>

* Simplify npm install: use plain npm install without flags

Co-authored-by: thedotmack <683968+thedotmack@users.noreply.github.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: copilot-swe-agent[bot] <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: thedotmack <683968+thedotmack@users.noreply.github.com>

package-lock.json

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "claude-mem",
-  "version": "5.1.0",
+  "version": "5.1.2",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "claude-mem",
-      "version": "5.1.0",
+      "version": "5.1.2",
       "license": "AGPL-3.0",
       "dependencies": {
         "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk": "^0.1.27",

scripts/smart-install.js

@@ -164,11 +164,22 @@ function runNpmInstall() {
   log('🔨 Installing dependencies...', colors.bright);
   log('', colors.reset);
 
+  // Try normal install first, then retry with force if it fails
+  const strategies = [
+    { command: 'npm install', label: 'normal' },
+    { command: 'npm install --force', label: 'with force flag' },
+  ];
+
+  let lastError = null;
+
+  for (const { command, label } of strategies) {
     try {
-    // Run npm install with error output visible
+      log(`Attempting install ${label}...`, colors.dim);
-    execSync('npm install --prefer-offline --no-audit --no-fund', {
+      
+      // Run npm install silently
+      execSync(command, {
         cwd: PLUGIN_ROOT,
-      stdio: 'inherit', // Show all output including errors
+        stdio: 'pipe', // Silent output unless error
         encoding: 'utf-8',
       });
 
@@ -188,25 +199,50 @@ function runNpmInstall() {
       return true;
 
     } catch (error) {
+      lastError = error;
+      // Continue to next strategy
+    }
+  }
+
+  // All strategies failed - show error
   log('', colors.red);
-    log('❌ Installation failed!', colors.bright);
+  log('❌ Installation failed after retrying!', colors.bright);
   log('', colors.reset);
 
   // Provide Windows-specific help
-    if (isWindows && error.message && error.message.includes('better-sqlite3')) {
+  if (isWindows && lastError && lastError.message && lastError.message.includes('better-sqlite3')) {
-      log(getWindowsErrorHelp(error.message), colors.yellow);
+    log(getWindowsErrorHelp(lastError.message), colors.yellow);
   }
 
-    // Show generic error info
+  // Show generic error info with troubleshooting steps
-    if (error.stderr) {
+  if (lastError) {
+    if (lastError.stderr) {
       log('Error output:', colors.dim);
-      log(error.stderr.toString(), colors.red);
+      log(lastError.stderr.toString(), colors.red);
-    } else if (error.message) {
+    } else if (lastError.message) {
-      log(error.message, colors.red);
+      log(lastError.message, colors.red);
+    }
+
+    log('', colors.yellow);
+    log('📋 Troubleshooting Steps:', colors.bright);
+    log('', colors.reset);
+    log('1. Check your internet connection', colors.yellow);
+    log('2. Try running: npm cache clean --force', colors.yellow);
+    log('3. Try running: npm install (in plugin directory)', colors.yellow);
+    log('4. Check npm version: npm --version (requires npm 7+)', colors.yellow);
+    log('5. Try updating npm: npm install -g npm@latest', colors.yellow);
+    log('', colors.reset);
   }
 
   return false;
-  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if we should fail when worker startup fails
+ * Returns true if worker failed AND dependencies are missing
+ */
+function shouldFailOnWorkerStartup(workerStarted) {
+  return !workerStarted && !existsSync(NODE_MODULES_PATH);
 }
 
 function startWorker() {
@@ -253,21 +289,30 @@ async function main() {
 
       if (!installSuccess) {
         log('', colors.red);
-        log('⚠️  Installation failed - worker startup may fail', colors.yellow);
+        log('❌ Installation failed - cannot start worker without dependencies', colors.bright);
         log('', colors.reset);
-        // Don't exit - still try to start worker with existing deps
+        log('Please resolve the installation issues above and try again.', colors.yellow);
+        log('', colors.reset);
+        process.exit(1);
       }
     }
 
-    // Always start/ensure worker is running
+    // Start/ensure worker is running (only after successful install or if deps already exist)
-    // This runs whether we installed deps or not
+    const workerStarted = startWorker();
-    startWorker();
 
-    // Success - dependencies installed (if needed) and worker running
+    if (shouldFailOnWorkerStartup(workerStarted)) {
+      log('', colors.red);
+      log('❌ Worker failed to start and dependencies are missing', colors.bright);
+      log('', colors.reset);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+
+    // Success - dependencies installed (if needed) and worker running (or already running)
     process.exit(0);
 
   } catch (error) {
     log(`❌ Unexpected error: ${error.message}`, colors.red);
+    log('', colors.reset);
     process.exit(1);
   }
 }