Fix npm update failing for version manager installs

internal/update/install_method.go

@@ -64,26 +64,3 @@ func classifyPath(resolved string) InstallMethod {
 
 	return InstallBinary
 }
-
-// npmProjectDir returns the project directory for a local npm install,
-// or empty string for a global install. A local install has a package.json
-// in the parent of the node_modules directory.
-func npmProjectDir(resolvedPath string) string {
-	// Walk up to find node_modules, then check for package.json one level above
-	dir := resolvedPath
-	for {
-		parent := filepath.Dir(dir)
-		if parent == dir {
-			break
-		}
-		if filepath.Base(dir) == "node_modules" {
-			pkgJSON := filepath.Join(parent, "package.json")
-			if _, err := os.Stat(pkgJSON); err == nil {
-				return parent
-			}
-			return ""
-		}
-		dir = parent
-	}
-	return ""
-}

internal/update/install_method_test.go

@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 package update
 
 import (
-	"os"
-	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 )
 
@@ -34,6 +32,11 @@ func TestClassifyPath(t *testing.T) {
 			path: "/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@localstack/lstk_darwin_amd64/lstk",
 			want: InstallNPM,
 		},
+		{
+			name: "npm global install via asdf",
+			path: "/Users/geo/.asdf/installs/nodejs/22.12.0/lib/node_modules/@localstack/lstk_darwin_arm64/lstk",
+			want: InstallNPM,
+		},
 		{
 			name: "standalone binary in usr local bin",
 			path: "/usr/local/bin/lstk",
@@ -61,46 +64,3 @@ func TestClassifyPath(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
-
-func TestNpmProjectDir(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Parallel()
-
-	t.Run("local install with package.json", func(t *testing.T) {
-		t.Parallel()
-		dir := t.TempDir()
-		if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dir, "package.json"), []byte("{}"), 0o644); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		binaryPath := filepath.Join(dir, "node_modules", "@localstack", "lstk_darwin_arm64", "lstk")
-		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(binaryPath), 0o755); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-
-		got := npmProjectDir(binaryPath)
-		if got != dir {
-			t.Fatalf("npmProjectDir() = %q, want %q", got, dir)
-		}
-	})
-
-	t.Run("global install without package.json", func(t *testing.T) {
-		t.Parallel()
-		dir := t.TempDir()
-		binaryPath := filepath.Join(dir, "lib", "node_modules", "@localstack", "lstk_darwin_arm64", "lstk")
-		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(binaryPath), 0o755); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-
-		got := npmProjectDir(binaryPath)
-		if got != "" {
-			t.Fatalf("npmProjectDir() = %q, want empty string", got)
-		}
-	})
-
-	t.Run("non-npm path", func(t *testing.T) {
-		t.Parallel()
-		got := npmProjectDir("/usr/local/bin/lstk")
-		if got != "" {
-			t.Fatalf("npmProjectDir() = %q, want empty string", got)
-		}
-	})
-}

internal/update/npm.go

@@ -7,14 +7,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/localstack/lstk/internal/output"
 )
 
-func updateNPM(ctx context.Context, sink output.Sink, projectDir string) error {
-	var cmd *exec.Cmd
-	if projectDir != "" {
-		cmd = exec.CommandContext(ctx, "npm", "install", "@localstack/lstk@latest")
-		cmd.Dir = projectDir
-	} else {
-		cmd = exec.CommandContext(ctx, "npm", "install", "-g", "@localstack/lstk@latest")
-	}
+func updateNPM(ctx context.Context, sink output.Sink) error {
+	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "npm", "install", "-g", "@localstack/lstk@latest")
 	w := newLogLineWriter(sink, output.LogSourceNPM)
 	cmd.Stdout = w
 	cmd.Stderr = w

internal/update/update.go

@@ -63,13 +63,8 @@ func applyUpdate(ctx context.Context, sink output.Sink, latest, githubToken stri
 		output.EmitNote(sink, "Installed through Homebrew, running brew upgrade")
 		err = updateHomebrew(ctx, sink)
 	case InstallNPM:
-		projectDir := npmProjectDir(info.ResolvedPath)
-		if projectDir != "" {
-			output.EmitNote(sink, fmt.Sprintf("Installed through npm (local), running npm install in %s", projectDir))
-		} else {
-			output.EmitNote(sink, "Installed through npm (global), running npm install -g")
-		}
-		err = updateNPM(ctx, sink, projectDir)
+		output.EmitNote(sink, "Installed through npm, running npm install -g")
+		err = updateNPM(ctx, sink)
 	default:
 		output.EmitSpinnerStart(sink, "Downloading update")
 		err = updateBinary(ctx, latest, githubToken)

test/integration/update_test.go

@@ -47,12 +47,19 @@ func requireNPM(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestUpdateNPMLocalInstall(t *testing.T) {
+func TestUpdateNPMInstall(t *testing.T) {
 	requireNPM(t)
 
+	// Skip if lstk is already installed globally (e.g., via Homebrew).
+	// npm install -g fails with EEXIST when it tries to create a symlink
+	// over an existing binary at the same path.
+	if path, err := exec.LookPath("lstk"); err == nil {
+		t.Skipf("lstk already installed at %s, would conflict with npm install -g", path)
+	}
+
 	ctx := testContext(t)
 
-	// Set up a fake local npm project.
+	// Set up a fake local npm project so we get a binary inside node_modules.
 	// On Windows, t.TempDir() may return a short 8.3 path (e.g. RUNNER~1)
 	// while the program resolves the long path. EvalSymlinks normalizes both.
 	projectDir, err := filepath.EvalSymlinks(t.TempDir())
@@ -93,16 +100,16 @@ func TestUpdateNPMLocalInstall(t *testing.T) {
 	out, err = buildCmd.CombinedOutput()
 	require.NoError(t, err, "go build failed: %s", string(out))
 
-	// Run the binary directly (not through npx) so os.Executable() resolves to the node_modules path
+	// Run the binary directly (not through npx) so os.Executable() resolves to the node_modules path.
+	// The update should always use `npm install -g` regardless of local/global context.
 	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, nmBinaryPath, "update", "--non-interactive")
 	cmd.Dir = projectDir
 	stdout, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
 	stdoutStr := string(stdout)
 
 	require.NoError(t, err, "lstk update failed: %s", stdoutStr)
 	requireExitCode(t, 0, err)
-	assert.Contains(t, stdoutStr, "npm (local)", "should detect local npm install")
-	assert.Contains(t, stdoutStr, projectDir, "should show the project directory")
+	assert.Contains(t, stdoutStr, "npm install -g", "should always use global install")
 	assert.Contains(t, stdoutStr, "Updated to", "should complete the update")
 }