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resolve.sync doesn't respect NODE_PATH

See original GitHub issue

There is an inconsistency in how resolve.sync and require.resolve resolve paths:

$ NODE_PATH=/opt/grunt-0.4.2/lib/node_modules node
> require.resolve('grunt')
'/opt/grunt-0.4.2/lib/node_modules/grunt/lib/grunt.js'
> require('resolve').sync('grunt')
Error: Cannot find module 'grunt' from '.'
    at Function.module.exports [as sync] (/home/shlevy/test/node_modules/resolve/lib/sync.js:32:11)
    at repl:1:21
    at REPLServer.self.eval (repl.js:110:21)
    at Interface.<anonymous> (repl.js:239:12)
    at Interface.EventEmitter.emit (events.js:95:17)
    at Interface._onLine (readline.js:202:10)
    at Interface._line (readline.js:531:8)
    at Interface._ttyWrite (readline.js:760:14)
    at ReadStream.onkeypress (readline.js:99:10)
    at ReadStream.EventEmitter.emit (events.js:98:17)
>

Issue Analytics

State:
Created 10 years ago
Comments:8 (1 by maintainers)

Top GitHub Comments

2reactions

gunchacommented, Jun 5, 2017

Alright, makes sense. I guess I read the “implements the node require.resolve() algorithm” a little too literally.

1reaction

ljharbcommented, Jun 5, 2017

https://github.com/substack/node-resolve/pull/47#issuecomment-45657329 seems clear.

@guncha you’ll note that line in the readme links to the official node resolve algorithm, which by design omits all mention of NODE_PATH. If you file an issue on node’s website, and they update that page, it’ll be a much stronger case to add the behavior here.

Using NODE_PATH is a really bad idea; and when node ships ES module support, it won’t have any concept that enables requiring modules in a nonstandard place, so it’s best to wean yourself off it asap.

The proper solution right now is to pass process.env.NODE_PATH into opts.path if you absolutely need to rely on it for some reason.

Per the above comment and the OP, I’ll close this for now.