`cml <sub-cmd>` on cml runner instance fails

I have tried a few iterations of this:

jobs:
  setup:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - uses: iterative/setup-cml@v1
      - name: deploy runner
        env:
          GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS_DATA: ${{ secrets.GCP_CML_RUNNER_KEY }}
        run: |
          cml runner \
            --single \
            --labels=test \
            --token=${{ secrets.DACBD_PAT }} \
            --cloud=gcp \
            --cloud-region=us-west \
            --cloud-type=e2-highcpu-2
  test:
    needs: [setup]
    runs-on: [self-hosted, test]
    steps:           
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - run: |
          which cml
          cml ci

Fails with an odd message: Error: Cannot find module '/tmp/tmp.njlS8oR0sf/.cml/cml-ehsjbxeja3/_work/cml-pulse/cml-pulse/ci'

and:

...
  test:
    needs: [setup]
    runs-on: [self-hosted, test]
    steps:           
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - uses: iterative/setup-cml@v1
      - run: |
          which cml
          cml ci

Fails with a EEXIST: file already exists, symlink '../lib/node_modules/@dvcorg/cml/bin/cml.js' -> '/usr/bin/cml'

---

However using --cml-version=github:iterative/cml.git#master \ to trigger the npm install -g way of setting up cml on the runner instance works fine.

[dacbd]

It looks like iterative/terraform-provider-iterative#458 might do the trick, but it’s just a huge hack to bypass the PKG_EXECPATH condition. 🪓

👀 🤔

As per https://github.com/vercel/pkg/issues/897#issuecomment-1076988215, I doubt that the current implementation of https://github.com/iterative/cml/pull/802 can not unset that environment variable, because it will be overridden by pkg again. 😅

I think what I have in mind shouldn’t care (if it works); as far as I have seen there is no issue with repeated invocations, just the “re-invocation” within the inherited context of the first pkg cml runner call which is the “parent” process of github actions runner and thus subsequent use of the cml cmd

Finished doing some reading and plan to try it out tomorrow evening 😴

[dacbd]

While “libelous” I feel validated with suspicion of child_process/spawn weirdness, also well done on the hunt! (https://github.com/vercel/pkg/issues/897#issuecomment-1076988215) I glanced at that chunk but, I missed the value of this in my initial grep of the codebase after I had found the culprit env.

To summarize, I agree I think the fix is solving #802 which I have an idea for beyond what is currently implemented in that branch which I intend to test out soon.