[SOLVED] How can I make npm projects with Bash shell commands work on Windows?

Issue

I have some NPM scripts on a project i recently took over that go like this:

{
    "package": "yarn package-common && mv './dist/APP® TV.wgt' ''./package/$(yarn -s filename)''",
    "package-common": "tizen package -t wgt -s APP -- ./dist && rimraf package && mkdir package",
    "filename": "cross-env-shell echo APP_${npm_package_version}.wgt",
}

This project was written by someone on a MAC. How can i translate the following part into a functioning Powershell / cmd command? I havent found anything anywhere about this. It runs the command and the echoed value gets appended to the string it got called from.

''./package/$(yarn -s filename)''

Or even better, is there a way besides this package to do it cross-platform?

Currently the message that gets output in powershell when running yarn package is:

'' was unexpected at this time.

Solution

Your basic choices for going cross-platform without platform-specific scripts are:

• Use Bash also on Windows:

  • Run your npm scripts from Bash via WSL and use the existing Bash commands typically contained in package.json files, such as in your case.

  • Alternatively, with Git for Windows installed, configure npm to use bash.exe as the shell for invoking commands - see this answer [npm v5.1+].

• Install PowerShell (Core) on all your platforms (including Windows), and define the commands as PowerShell commands (see below) [npm v5.1+].

Note the npm version version requirement (version 5.1 or higher) where noted, due to the configuration option to use a specific shell (script-shell) not being available in earlier versions. Run npm -v to get the installed version, and
npm install -g npm to update, if possible.

---

Using npm with PowerShell (Core) on all platforms [npm v5.1+]:

• Install PowerShell Core.

• Then configure npm to use PowerShell (Core) as the shell (requires npm version 5.1 or higher):

  • For all your projects (current user), or globally (all users):

    npm config set script-shell pwsh [--global]
    

  • For a given project only (from that project's root directory):

    npm config set script-shell pwsh --location project
    
    # Equivalent in older npm versions:
    npm config set script-shell pwsh --userconfig ./.npmrc
    

• Finally, in your projects' package.json's scripts key, define the commands as PowerShell commands.

In the case at hand:

For instance, translate this Bash command:

yarn package-common && mv './dist/APP® TV.wgt' "./package/$(yarn -s filename)"

^{Note: I've replaced '' with ", because the latter make more sense; as originally written, the '' are effectively discarded by Bash, and the result of command substitution $(yarn -s filename) could break the command if it contained whitespace.}

to this PowerShell command (v7+):

yarn package-common && mi './dist/APP® TV.wgt' "./package/$(yarn -s filename)"

Note:

• mi is a built-in alias for PowerShell's Move-Item cmdlet.

• While it makes sense to call your scripts from PowerShell also, that's not a requirement - calling from cmd.exe or a batch file will work too.

• To get started with PowerShell (Core), see Learning PowerShell; also, http://hyperpolyglot.org/shell juxtaposes the syntax of POSIX-like shells such as Bash with that of cmd.exe and PowerShell in concise, tabular form.

Answered By - mklement0

Answer Checked By - David Goodson (WPSolving Volunteer)