Builds empty nw:blank app on Windows/Linux

[nolanlawson]

This was already filed on grunt-node-webkit-builder, but I think it might be more appropriate in this repo: nwjs/grunt-nw-builder#117.

Anybody seen this issue? Basically Windows and Linux are unbuildable. :(

[adam-lynch]

I've gotten this myself yesterday after I updated to 0.11.0 (I'll try again with 0.10.5 after I post this). Building for Windows on Mac, and then running on Windows, worked.

@steffenmllr @gabepaez any idea what could be the cause?

[steffenmllr]

If someone could provide a test app which is not building, this would be great.

[adam-lynch]

Of course... my example project, which should fail to build, actually builds fine 😄

[adam-lynch]

My own project is now building fine on Windows. I was actually using node-webkit-builder#platform-overrides not the latest from npm.

Also, see #110, it might be related to this issue. Not sure. I ran into it when creating an example app for this issue.

[adam-lynch]

Could you try again with the latest version?

[rlee1121]

@adam-lynch Can you provide a little more detail as to how you got your Windows build working (versions, options for NwBuilder instance, etc.)? Experiencing the same issue ("nw:blank" loading) with the following:

node-webkit: 0.11.5,
node-webkit-builder: 1.0.4

var nw = new NwBuilder({
    appName: pkg.displayName,
    appVersion: pkg.version,
    files: [ "package.json",  "./src/**/*", "./libs/**/*", "./public/**/*"],
    platforms: ["win"],
    version: "0.11.5",
    winIco: pkg.winIcon
});

[Thomas-B]

@rlee1121
I experienced the same issue and resolved it by removing a module which was really deep.
As @adam-lynch said here it might be related to path's length.

[adam-lynch]

@rlee1121 try Path Length Checker which I mentioned in the issue @Thomas-B linked to. (Thanks @Thomas-B)

[rlee1121]

@Thomas-B @adam-lynch thanks so much for the suggestions, this was indeed the issue!

[marbemac]

I'm also running into this issue - nw:blank on Windows. I'm using Sails.js, and I think I'm running into the path name length issue described above. However.. I can't just leave sails out of the node_modules folder - it's required for my app to function. Does anybody have any suggestions, other than removing whichever modules include long path names? Thanks!

[adam-lynch]

@marbemac Let's say there is one module which is a dependency of Sails.js which is a cause of long paths. An example path: node_modules/Sails.js/node_modules/a/node_modules/b/.../node_modules/z.js.

Manually npm install --save g (g or a module a good bit down the node_modules tree which is still under 256 characters), then delete the node_modules/Sails.js directory and re-install it. That way, it shouldn't install g and all of g's own dependencies inside node_modules/Sails.js/node_modules/a/.../f/node_modules anymore.

[marbemac]

@adam-lynch It's a pain, but that works, thanks! 👍 The endless nesting in npm is tiresome.

[adam-lynch]

@nolanlawson still a problem with the latest version?

[Nitemaeric]

@adam-lynch Is there any way to simplify this process? Is the 256 character length path a windows hard limitation?

[adam-lynch]

@Nitemaeric Not really, no. There are node modules out there for flattening your dependencies but as far as I know they're not reliable, because if two modules depend on two different versions of the same module, then they'll probably just take one version and discard the other.

Yeah, more info here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1880321/why-does-the-260-character-path-length-limit-exist-in-windows.

[Nitemaeric]

@adam-lynch Ok, thanks! I should get to flattening my dependencies then!

[marcfowler]

I ran into this exact issue and it was a nightmare! I tried to do things manually but I had a whole bunch of problems with that, as my dependencies were pretty complex.

In the end, I figured it out by using https://www.npmjs.com/package/flatten-packages

As you said @adam-lynch, it does discard multiple versions of the same but as it happens, that was okay for me. It took some manual jiggering around but this does at least seem to be the cause and I thought I'd share what worked for me!

[adam-lynch]

Everyone, see Dealing with long paths

[seiyria]

npm@3 might also help this situation. It installs flat instead of nested by default, then nests when there is a version conflict.

[adam-lynch]

Closing this as I'm hoping the replies helped above or it's now solved as of npm@3