npm Script "command not found" (PATH) in CI - Fix Missing Binaries

npm scripts run with node_modules/.bin on PATH. A command-not-found inside a script means the binary was never installed or is not a local devDependency.

What this error means

An npm script fails with sh: <tool>: command not found (often exit 127). The tool runs locally because it is installed globally there, but CI has only what package.json declares.

> my-app@1.0.0 build
> vite build

sh: 1: vite: command not found
npm ERR! code 127

Common causes

The tool is not a devDependency

The script relies on a globally installed binary that exists locally but not in CI.

node_modules/.bin is not on PATH

Calling the tool outside an npm script, or in a subshell that drops PATH, misses the local bin directory.

How to fix it

Add the tool as a devDependency

1. Install the binary as a devDependency and commit the lockfile.
2. Call it from an npm script so .bin is on PATH.

npm install -D vite

Invoke via npx or a script

1. Use npx <tool> to resolve a local binary.
2. Keep tool invocations inside npm scripts.

npx vite build

How to prevent it

• Declare every tool a script uses as a devDependency, call them through npm scripts or npx, and never rely on globally installed binaries that only exist on a developer machine.

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