install fails on Node 26: shipped npm-shrinkwrap.json pins better-sqlite3@12.6.2 (fixed in 12.11.1)

[larsmoan]

Summary

npm install -g @the-open-engine/zeroshot fails on Node 26. The published tarball includes an npm-shrinkwrap.json that pins better-sqlite3 to 12.6.2. That version has no v147 (Node 26 ABI) prebuild, and the source in 12.6.2 still uses v8::PropertyCallbackInfo<T>::This(), which V8 in Node 26 removed. So prebuild-install falls back to node-gyp rebuild, and the C++ compile fails.

The package.json range ^12.6.2 covers versions with the fix. But npm uses the shrinkwrap first, so the consumer gets 12.6.2.

Environment

• OS: macOS (darwin 25.5.0, arm64)
• Node: v26.2.0 (NODE_MODULE_VERSION 147, ABI v147)
• npm: bundled with Node 26
• zeroshot: 6.41.1
• Node manager: fnm

Reproduction

fnm use 26
npm install -g @the-open-engine/zeroshot

Failure

node-gyp rebuild on better-sqlite3@12.6.2 gives:

../src/objects/statement.cpp:381:43: error: no member named 'This' in 'v8::PropertyCallbackInfo<v8::Value>'
../src/objects/database.cpp:411:50: error: no member named 'This' in 'v8::PropertyCallbackInfo<v8::Value>'
../src/objects/database.cpp:415:39: error: no member named 'This' in 'v8::PropertyCallbackInfo<v8::Value>'

Upstream fixes

Two upstream PRs matter:

• fix: use HolderV2() for PropertyCallbackInfo on V8 >= 12.5 WiseLibs/better-sqlite3#1459 — source fix. Replaces info.This() with HolderV2() in PropertyCallbackInfo handlers. Released in 12.8.0.
• Add support for Node.js v26 prebuilds and remove EOL builds WiseLibs/better-sqlite3#1468 — adds Node 26 to CI prebuilds and to engines.node. Released in 12.10.0.

Both fixes together are in better-sqlite3 >= 12.10.0. With 12.10.0+, a Node 26 (v147) prebuilt binary is on GitHub Releases for darwin-arm64, so no local compile happens.

Verified:

$ fnm use 26 && npm install better-sqlite3@12.11.1
added 38 packages in 3s

Root cause

The published tarball has an npm-shrinkwrap.json. npm uses this file for the consumer tree.

Read the tarball:

$ npm pack @the-open-engine/zeroshot@6.41.1
$ tar xzf the-open-engine-zeroshot-6.41.1.tgz
$ grep -A1 '"node_modules/better-sqlite3"' package/npm-shrinkwrap.json
    "node_modules/better-sqlite3": {
      "version": "12.6.2",

Install the package:

$ npm install @the-open-engine/zeroshot@6.41.1 --ignore-scripts
$ npm ls better-sqlite3
zeroshot-npmls@1.0.0
└─┬ @the-open-engine/zeroshot@6.41.1
  └── better-sqlite3@12.6.2

Without the shrinkwrap, ^12.6.2 would give a fixed version. The shrinkwrap blocks that.

Suggested fix

Do these steps:

1. Set better-sqlite3 to ^12.10.0 (or higher) in package.json.
2. Regenerate npm-shrinkwrap.json.
3. Publish a new version.

No source code change is necessary.

You can also examine if a global CLI must ship npm-shrinkwrap.json. This file stops the consumer from getting fixed dependencies. This bug is one example. package-lock.json gives you a reproducible build but is not published. This is a policy choice.

Workaround

Install with Node 22 or 24 LTS:

fnm install 22 && fnm use 22
npm install -g @the-open-engine/zeroshot

References

• fix: use HolderV2() for PropertyCallbackInfo on V8 >= 12.5 WiseLibs/better-sqlite3#1459 — source fix for the V8 API change. Released in 12.8.0.
• Add support for Node.js v26 prebuilds and remove EOL builds WiseLibs/better-sqlite3#1468 — Node 26 prebuilds and engines. Released in 12.10.0.
• Linux x64 build failure on node:26.5.0-bullseye WiseLibs/better-sqlite3#1494 — closed issue on a different Node 26 build failure on Debian.