Packaging was silently hanging forever because yauzl 2.10.0 read streams
emit no data events under Node 26, causing extract-zip to block indefinitely
inside @electron/packager 20. Fix: postinstall script patches
@electron/packager/dist/unzip.js to use bsdtar (libarchive) instead.
bsdtar was chosen over 7z because 7z refuses chained symlinks in macOS
.app framework bundles. Both package:linux and package:mac now produce
correct output.
Also corrects the V3 API bootstrap contract in api_client.ts:
- SearchQuery body was wrapped in an extra {search_query: ...} layer — removed
- x-no-account-id header standardised to 'bypass'
- Redundant x-no-account-id removed from file download headers
- Smoke test rewritten to validate the real two-step bootstrap path
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Native App Agent Task List
Use this file to track steps for complex features or bug fixes. Status: Stable - ongoing development.
Current Investigation
- This started as an API contract review for the native Electron bootstrap path and expanded into a packaging/runtime issue after the deploy step stopped producing bundles.
- We now know the API side was not the root cause. The bootstrap request shape in
src/main/api_client.tswas wrong and has been corrected. - The packaging blocker has been diagnosed and fixed (see below).
What Was Fixed
- Updated the native bootstrap flow to use the direct
site_domain/searchrequest body expected by API V3. - Standardized the account-bypass header to
x-no-account-id: bypasswhere that narrow bypass is intended. - Removed a redundant
x-no-account-idheader from file download calls. - Rewrote the device lookup smoke test so it validates the real two-step bootstrap path end to end.
- Upgraded Electron from 34.x to 42.0.1.
- Replaced deprecated
electron-packagerwith@electron/packager20.0.0. - Added a
package:linuxsmoke test path so packaging failures can be isolated from macOS-specific behavior. - Fixed packaging hang on Node 26:
yauzl2.10.0 (used byextract-zipin@electron/packager) emits nodataevents on Node 26 streams, causing zip extraction to hang indefinitely. Fix: patched@electron/packager/dist/unzip.jsto use7z(system binary) instead ofextract-zip. Patch is re-applied on everynpm installvia thepostinstallscript atscripts/patch-packager-unzip.js.
Verified So Far
npm run devworks once the Electron binary is present locally.- Manual Electron cache extraction restored a runnable checkout on this machine.
- API validation confirmed the backend responds correctly for:
event_device/{id}lookupsite_domain/search?limit=1with the directSearchQuerybody
- The returned
site_domain.account_idmatches the device account context in the verified bootstrap flow. - The SvelteKit frontend bootstrap path already follows the correct API contract and does not need the same fix.
npm run package:linuxnow producesbuilds/aether_launcher-linux-x64/with a complete bundle (confirmed 2026-05-11).npm run package:macnow producesbuilds/aether_launcher-darwin-x64/andbuilds/aether_launcher-darwin-arm64/withaether_launcher.appinside each (confirmed 2026-05-11). Initial fix used7zbut it refused chained symlinks inside macOS framework bundles; switched tobsdtar(libarchive) which handles both Linux and macOS zips correctly.deploy/deploy.shoutput directory names (aether_launcher-darwin-x64,aether_launcher-darwin-arm64) match packager output — no script changes needed.
Remaining Items
- Test that the packaged Linux binary runs end-to-end against the dev API.
- Document that
bsdtar(libarchive) must be present on the build host — new build-time dependency. On Arch:sudo pacman -S libarchive.
Root Cause Summary (Packaging Hang)
- Tool chain: Node 26.1.0 +
@electron/packager20.0.0 +extract-zip2.0.1 +yauzl2.10.0 - Symptom:
npm run package:linuxexits 0 but produces no output. Debug log shows it starts extraction but never finishes. - Root cause:
yauzlopens a read stream for the first zip entry, but on Node 26, nodataevents are ever emitted on that stream. Thepipeline(readStream, writeStream)call inextract-zipblocks forever. - Fix: Replace the one-liner
extractElectronZipfunction innode_modules/@electron/packager/dist/unzip.jswith achild_process.execSynccall to7z x. Apostinstallnpm script re-applies this patch after eachnpm install. - Build-time dependency:
p7zip(provides/usr/bin/7z) must be installed on the build host. On Arch:pacman -S p7zip.
References
- Electron 42 release notes: https://www.electronjs.org/blog/electron-42-0
- Related Electron packaging discussion: https://github.com/aaddrick/claude-desktop-debian/pull/587
- Electron packaging/runtime change reference: https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/49328
- yauzl Node 26 stream issue:
yauzl2.10.0 uses legacy Node streams (streams1 style); Node 26 changed stream internal behavior soopenReadStreamreturns a stream that never emitsdatawithout a proper pipeline consumer.
Notes
- Was on Electron 34.
- The problem is not the backend API keys or the frontend site bootstrap flow.
- The packaging fix is a node_modules patch, not upstream. If
@electron/packagerorextract-zipreleases a Node 26-compatible version, thepostinstallscript should be removed.