sandbox-npm-install

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Install npm packages in a Docker sandbox environment. Use this skill whenever you need to install, reinstall, or update node_modules inside a container where the workspace is mounted via virtiofs. Native binaries (esbuild, lightningcss, rollup) crash on virtiofs, so packages must be installed on the local ext4 filesystem and symlinked back.

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Sourcegithub/awesome-copilot

Added on2026-03-16

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add github/awesome-copilot sandbox-npm-install

SKILL.md Content

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Sandbox npm Install

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill whenever:

You need to install npm packages for the first time in a new sandbox session
```
package.json
```
or
```
package-lock.json
```
has changed and you need to reinstall
You encounter native binary crashes with errors like
```
SIGILL
```
,
```
SIGSEGV
```
,
```
mmap
```
, or
```
unaligned sysNoHugePageOS
```
The
```
node_modules
```
directory is missing or corrupted

Prerequisites

A Docker sandbox environment with a virtiofs-mounted workspace
Node.js and npm available in the container
A
```
package.json
```
file in the target workspace

Background

Docker sandbox workspaces are typically mounted via virtiofs (file sync between the host and Linux VM). Native Go and Rust binaries (esbuild, lightningcss, rollup, etc.) crash with mmap alignment failures when executed from virtiofs on aarch64. The fix is to install on the container's local ext4 filesystem and symlink back into the workspace.

Step-by-Step Installation

Run the bundled install script from the workspace root:

bash

bash scripts/install.sh

Common Options

Option	Description
`--workspace <path>`	Path to directory containing `package.json` (auto-detected if omitted)
`--playwright`	Also install Playwright Chromium browser for E2E testing

What the Script Does

Copies
```
package.json
```
,
```
package-lock.json
```
, and
```
.npmrc
```
(if present) to a local ext4 directory
Runs
```
npm ci
```
(or
```
npm install
```
if no lockfile) on the local filesystem
Symlinks
```
node_modules
```
back into the workspace
Verifies known native binaries (esbuild, rollup, lightningcss, vite) if present
Optionally installs Playwright browsers and system dependencies (uses
```
sudo
```
when available)

If verification fails, run the script again — crashes can be intermittent during initial setup.

Post-Install Verification

After the script completes, verify your toolchain works. For example:

bash

npm test             # Run project tests
npm run build        # Build the project
npm run dev          # Start dev server

Important Notes

The local install directory (e.g.,
```
/home/agent/project-deps
```
) is container-local and is NOT synced back to the host
The
```
node_modules
```
symlink appears as a broken link on the host — this is harmless since
```
node_modules
```
is typically gitignored
Running
```
npm ci
```
or
```
npm install
```
on the host naturally replaces the symlink with a real directory
After any
```
package.json
```
or
```
package-lock.json
```
change, re-run the install script
Do NOT run
```
npm ci
```
or
```
npm install
```
directly in the mounted workspace — native binaries will crash

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
`SIGILL` or `SIGSEGV` when running dev server	Re-run the install script; ensure you're not running `npm install` directly in the workspace
`node_modules` not found after install	Check that the symlink exists: `ls -la node_modules`
Permission errors during install	Ensure the local deps directory is writable by the current user
Verification fails intermittently	Run the script again — native binary crashes can be non-deterministic on first load

Vite Compatibility

If your project uses Vite, you may need to allow the symlinked path in

server.fs.allow

. Add the symlink target's parent directory (e.g.,

/home/agent/project-deps/

) to your Vite config so that Vite can serve files through the symlink.