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npm WARN optional SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY

npm couldn't install an optional dependency (one listed under optionalDependencies in package.json) but continued anyway. Optional dependencies are non-critical — their failure shouldn't break your project.

Common causes

  • The optional package doesn't support your current operating system or CPU architecture
  • Native addons (C++ bindings) that are optional failed to compile
  • A platform-specific binary package isn't available for your environment
  • Network issues prevented downloading the optional package

How to fix it

  1. This is usually safe to ignore — optional dependencies are non-critical by design
  2. If your app depends on this package's functionality, install it manually: npm install <package>
  3. Check if the package supports your OS/architecture: npm info <package> os cpu
  4. If it's a native module: ensure you have build tools installed (python, make, gcc on Linux)

Example

npm WARN optional SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: [email protected] (node_modules/fsevents): npm WARN notsup SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: Unsupported platform for [email protected]: wanted {"os":"darwin","arch":"any"} (current: {"os":"linux","arch":"x64"})

Running npm install on Linux for a project that was originally developed on macOS

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