[BUG] npm complains not knowing command 'pm' under pwsh7

[jessehouwing]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

This issue exists in the latest npm version

• I am using the latest npm

Current Behavior

This may have been solved in the most recent version, but I can't consistently fic the issue on GitHub Actions Hosted Runners.

When using Node 22.18.0, without updating npm the following is true, and updating npm in the workflow also fails.

When running

& npm install tfx-cli@latest -g

Using Node 22, latest npm, I get the following error message:

& npm install tfx-cli@latest -g

Unknown command: "pm"

To see a list of supported npm commands, run:
  npm help

Removing the & in this case fixes the issue.

npm install tfx-cli@latest -g
npm warn deprecated inflight@1.0.6: This module is not supported, and leaks memory. Do not use it. Check out lru-cache if you want a good and tested way to coalesce async requests by a key value, which is much more comprehensive and powerful.
npm warn deprecated glob@7.1.2: Glob versions prior to v9 are no longer supported
npm warn deprecated uuid@3.4.0: Please upgrade  to version 7 or higher.  Older versions may use Math.random() in certain circumstances, which is known to be problematic.  See https://v8.dev/blog/math-random for details.

added 218 packages in 16s 

This issue was recently introduced and started breaking existing scripts.

Similarly & "npm" install will now also fail.

When upgrading npm as part of my GitHub Actions workflow, the behavior stays the same. Locally, when upgrading npm to latest, the issue goes away.

Expected Behavior

& "npm" install
& npm install
npm install

all work without complaining about missing files or unknown commands

Steps To Reproduce

The following GitHub Actions woprkflow shows the problem:

name: Show npm issue

on:
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:

  update:

    runs-on: windows-latest

    steps:
      - name: Use node 22
        uses: actions/setup-node@49933ea5288caeca8642d1e84afbd3f7d6820020 # v4.4.0
        with:
          node-version: 22

      - name: Download recent extensions
        run: |
          & npm install npm@latest -g

https://github.com/renovatebot/azure-devops-marketplace/actions/runs/17211796029/job/48825249286

Even adding an explicit update to latest npm in the workflow fails:

https://github.com/renovatebot/azure-devops-marketplace/actions/runs/17213248909/job/48830235233

Environment

 azure-devops-marketplace  npm -v
10.9.3
 azure-devops-marketplace  node -v
v22.18.0

Windows 11 24h2 x64

[jessehouwing]

I suspect the issue is caused by the fact that the shims aren't recreated when npm is updating itself?

[jessehouwing]

Removing the shim and reinstalling npm from a windows shell, solves the issue.

      - run:  (get-command npm).source | remove-item
      - name: Download recent extensions
        run: |
          npm -v
          npm install npm@latest -g 
          npm -v
        shell: cmd
      - name: Download recent extensions
        run: | 
          npm -v
          & npm install tfx-cli@latest -g

[alexsch01]

good catch, I linked a PR that fixes this

[jessehouwing]

@alexsch01 does that solve the case where a bad shim is present and npm is updated too?

[alexsch01]

probably, don't know why you are including the "&" in front of the npm command
but my PR should fix it for ya

[jessehouwing]

Generally when calling a external tool in powershell, like a cli or anything, that's a common practice. It also allows you to run "npm" when it is passed with quotes. Or to execute a whole string as a command + parameters.

The fact that you're intercepting that by putting npm.ps1 into the path and I'm not calling an executable, but another Powershell script is what threw me off.

This is also a remnant from way back when npm didn't generate a PS1, in that case it would have it execute the .cmd instead.

[jessehouwing]

But I think it doesn't fix the issue when upgrading from a previous version of npm when npm came with the node distribution.

Cause when I install Node 20 at the moment, the PS1 shim is broken. When I upgrade NFM, the shim isn't replaced.

When I remove the shim and upgrade npm, the shim is replaced.

So it looks like fixing the shim in npm 11 won't fix users who are on an older version of npm and perform an in-place upgrade.

[alexsch01]

@jessehouwing my PR is for the eventual goal of getting the PS1 change into NodeJS 22/24

doing npm i -g npm wouldn't fix that since npm installing a package generates a cmd-shim for the package

bin/npm.ps1 and bin/npx.ps1 files in the npm/cli repo are really for just NodeJS to ship them