Please run `npm cache clean`

40
votes

I'm trying to install IPFS from herenpm install ipfs --save and it is giving me the error as

npm ERR! tar.unpack error reading /media/FLASH/Tech/IPFS/ipfs

npm ERR! addLocal Could not install /media/FLASH/Tech/IPFS/ipfs

npm ERR! Linux 4.15.0-29-generic

npm ERR! argv "/usr/local/bin/node" "/usr/local/bin/npm" "install" "ipfs" "--save"

npm ERR! node v6.9.2

npm ERR! npm v3.10.9

npm ERR! 0-byte tarball

npm ERR! Please run npm cache clean

I tried doing npm cache clean but still it is giving me the same error while doing npm install ipfs --save

I don't know why I'm getting this error. and how to avoid this error.

3
node.jsnpmipfs
You've not given us much information. What is your question, do you want to understand why this is happening or how to get the installation to pass? If you want to get the installation to pass, I'd suggest doing as npm says and run npm cache clean to begin with. – Elliot Blackburn
Yes. I did run npm cache clean and i tried npm install ipfs again but still it is giving the same error. I don't know why this is giving the error. – FLASH
You should add that to your original question so people can clearly see the problem. – Elliot Blackburn

3 Answers

86
votes

As of npm@5, the npm cache self-heals from corruption issues and data extracted from the cache is guaranteed to be valid. If you want to make sure everything is consistent, use npm cache verify instead. On the other hand, if you're debugging an issue with the installer, you can use npm install --cache /tmp/empty-cache to use a temporary cache instead of nuking the actual one.

If you're sure you want to delete the entire cache, rerun:

npm cache clean --force

A complete log of this run can be found in /Users/USERNAME/.npm/_logs/2019-01-08T21_29_30_811Z-debug.log.

7
votes

This error can be due to many many things.

The key here seems the hint about error reading. I see you are working on a flash drive or something similar? Try to run the install on a local folder owned by your current user.

You could also try with sudo, that might solve a permission problem if that's the case.

Another reason why it cannot read could be because it has not downloaded correctly, or saved correctly. A little problem in your network could have caused that, and the cache clean would remove the files and force a refetch but that does not solve your problem. That means it would be more on the save part, maybe it didn't save because of permissions, maybe it didn't not save correctly because it was lacking disk space...

1
votes

npm cache clean doesn't work now

Type below command :-

1- npm cache verify

Read the error in terminal it will show you exact commands to run for solution. you might need to append --force(be a developer and read the solutions)

2- sudo chown -R 501:20 "/$path$/.npm". (this works for me )