Custom npm modules with Meteor

Initialization

Install the package meteorhacks:npm

$ meteor add meteorhacks:npm

Changes to your project's package version selections:

meteorhacks:async  added, version 1.0.0
meteorhacks:npm    added, version 1.2.2

Run the project to initialize the module

$ meteor
[[[[[ ~/path/to/app ]]]]]

=> Started proxy.
=> Started MongoDB.
   Loading plugin `initializing-npm-supp...  |

-> creating `packages.json` for the first time.
-> add your npm modules to `packages.json`

=> Creating container package for npm modules

-> npm support has been initialized.
-> please start your app again.

Re-run the project to define the version

$ meteor
[[[[[ ~/path/to/app ]]]]]

=> Started proxy.
=> Started MongoDB.

Changes to your project's package version selections:

npm-container added, version 1.0.0

=> Started your app.

=> App running at: http://localhost:3000/

At that point your application is initialized to install and deploy custom npm modules by adding them to the packages.json file at the root of your project.

Deployment

Once the application has been initialized, different steps are required to ensure the application will be deployed correctly.

  • Add the npm-container package to your project
$ echo 'npm-container' >> .meteor/packages
  • Check in your Git repository all the generated files.
$ git add -f packages/npm-container .meteor/packages .meteor/versions packages.json
$ git commit -m "Add npm package handling"

That’s it, all the required files are staged for commit:

$ git push scalingo master

Common errors:

npm support has been initialized

Complete message

  => Creating container package for npm modules

  -> npm support has been initialized.
  -> please start your app again.
  This command has been deprecated in favor of 'meteor build', which allows you
  to build for multiple platforms and outputs a directory instead of a single
  tarball. See 'meteor help build'for more information.
  meteor bundle generation complete.
  Finding dependencies...

fs.js:666
  return binding.readdir(pathModule._makeLong(path));
                 ^

Solution

Ensure that all the steps in the deployment part have been done, this error is directly linked to an oblivion of checking in packages/npm-container to the Git repository and adding npm-container in the .meteor/packages file.

Unknown package: npm-container

Complete message

Could not resolve the specified constraints for this project:
Error: unknown package: npm-container

Solution

This error is due to the fact that the package npm-container is present in the .meteor/packages file but that the directory packages/npm-container has not been added correctly to the Git repository. Please ensure this point.

error: couldn’t read npm version lock information

Complete message

=> Errors while initializing project:

While building package npm-container:
error: couldn't read npm version lock information

Solution

This error happened when the internal files of npm-container are already defined and that you’ve added or updated a npm package in your project. To fix this you have to remove these data from your Git repository

git rm -r --cached packages/npm-container/.npm
echo packages/npm-container/.npm >> .gitignore
git commit -m "remove internal data of npm-container from repository"
git push scalingo master

That should do the trick and your application will be deployed correctly.


Suggest edits

Custom npm modules with Meteor

©2024 Scalingo