Skip to content

fix: add postinstall script to fix node-pty spawn-helper permissions on macOS #294

New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Open
amacsmith wants to merge 5 commits into
base: main
Choose a base branch
from
+1,620 −1,429
Open

fix: add postinstall script to fix node-pty spawn-helper permissions on macOS #294

Show file tree
Hide file tree
Changes from 3 commits
Commits
Show all changes
5 commits
Select commit Hold shift + click to select a range
05dee7e
fix: add postinstall script to fix node-pty spawn-helper permissions …
Jan 12, 2026
1b90ff2
fix: address review feedback
Jan 12, 2026
e388764
Merge branch 'main' into fix/node-pty-spawn-helper-permissions
amacsmith Jan 18, 2026
b67bc03
Update README.md
amacsmith Jan 18, 2026
34cf343
Merge branch 'main' into fix/node-pty-spawn-helper-permissions
viper151 Jan 26, 2026
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
23 changes: 23 additions & 0 deletions README.md
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -319,6 +319,29 @@ We welcome contributions! Please follow these guidelines:

### Common Issues & Solutions

#### Shell/Terminal Fails with "posix_spawnp failed" (macOS)
**Problem**: When clicking "Continue in Shell" or starting a terminal session, you see:
```text
Error: posix_spawnp failed.
```
With a stack trace referencing `node-pty/lib/unixTerminal.js`.

**Cause**: The `node-pty` package's `spawn-helper` binary may be missing execute permissions after installation. This commonly happens on macOS when:
- Installing via `npx` or `pnpm`
- The npm tarball doesn't preserve the execute bit
Comment on lines +331 to +333
Copy link

Copilot AI Jan 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

The troubleshooting section describes the issue as "commonly happens on macOS when installing via npx or pnpm" but the postinstall script will run for all package managers (npm, yarn, pnpm, etc.) on all platforms. Consider clarifying in the documentation that while the issue commonly occurs with certain package managers on macOS, the postinstall fix applies universally. Alternatively, if the issue is truly specific to certain installation methods, the documentation should explain why the postinstall script may not always be sufficient.

Copilot uses AI. Check for mistakes.
Copy link
Author

@amacsmith amacsmith Jan 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

@copilot open a new pull request to apply changes based on this feedback

Copy link
Author

@amacsmith amacsmith Jan 18, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

@copilot open a new pull request to apply changes based on this feedback


**Solution**: Run this command from the project root (or global install location):
```bash
chmod +x node_modules/node-pty/prebuilds/darwin-*/spawn-helper
```

For Intel Macs, the path is `darwin-x64`. For Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3), it's `darwin-arm64`.

**Permanent Fix**: This project includes a `postinstall` script that automatically fixes permissions. If you still encounter the issue:
1. Delete `node_modules` and reinstall: `rm -r node_modules && npm install`
2. Verify the fix: `ls -la node_modules/node-pty/prebuilds/darwin-*/spawn-helper` (should show `-rwxr-xr-x`)

**Related Issues**: [#284](https://github.com/siteboon/claudecodeui/issues/284)

#### "No Claude projects found"
**Problem**: The UI shows no projects or empty project list
Expand Down
Loading