VS Code with NVM

[anseki]

Hi, thank you for great app.

So, I hope VS Code sets specified environment variables when it starts.
I use a NodeJS Version Manager such as nvm, then a path to NodeJS is not added to PATH until nvm do it. (Also NODE_PATH, NODE_HOME, etc.)
That is, CLI of modules such as Gulp, Grunt, UglifyJS, etc. are not work as Task of VS Code. (VS Code can't find out these.)

When I add to PATH a path to these CLIs such as /path/to/nvm/v4.2.4 and call code command, these Tasks work fine. Or when I add a following line to VS Code DIRECTORY/bin/code.js.

process.env['PATH'] += require('path').delimiter + '/path/to/nvm/v4.2.4';

But, When VS Code is started from launcher such as Windows Start Menu, these are not work because Code.exe is called directly.

As everyone knows, NodeJS is updated frequently. A better solution I think is that VS Code sets environment variables written in settings.json that was specified by user. Or user is given a chance such as "Startup Script(or Command)" to do something.

[joaomoreno]

This should only happen on Windows. Other OSs work properly.

[anseki]

This issue occurred in Ubuntu also.
I think that it occurs regardless of which OS.
Paths to node and CLI commands such as gulp are not added to PATH until nvm do it. VS Code can't find out these.

[joaomoreno]

Code does find these in Linux and OS X. Please try it one more time in Linux and confirm that it doesn't work. If that's the case, it's a separate issue.

[anseki]

Yes, I confirmed it again, and I got same result.
For example, I did Tasks: Run Task, and VS Code said "Gulp is not installed on your system".
Of course Gulp is already installed.

I think that getUserEnvironment() makes the process take over environment variables from parent process.
But path to Gulp is not added to PATH yet. VS Code can't find out these because PATH does not include Gulp.
The cause of this issue is unrelated to getUserEnvironment(). The cause is that necessary paths are not added to PATH when VS Code starts.

[joaomoreno]

getUserEnvironment() exists for the specific purpose that Code cannot rely on inheriting the environment from its parent process. It spawns a shell and reads the environment from it.

In Linux, what do you get when you run $SHELL -ilc env? This should print out the correct PATH, one that points to gulp.

[anseki]

Ok, I checked PATH again:

starman@blue3:~$ $SHELL -ilc env
  :
  :
SHELL=/bin/bash
  :
  :
PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games
  :
  :
NVM_NODEJS_ORG_MIRROR=https://nodejs.org/dist
NVM_IOJS_ORG_MIRROR=https://iojs.org/dist
  :
  :
starman@blue3:~$ printenv PATH
/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games
starman@blue3:~$ echo $0
/bin/bash

Of course PATH does not include a path to Gulp, as I said repeatedly. Because Node Version Manager such as nvm adds these paths to the PATH. It in Windows also do the same.

starman@blue3:~$ nvm use v4.2.1
Now using node v4.2.1 (npm v2.14.7)
starman@blue3:~$ gulp -v
[18:06:56] CLI version 3.9.0
starman@blue3:~$ printenv PATH
/home/starman/.nvm/versions/node/v4.2.1/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games

gulp -v above works correctly because the PATH includes /home/starman/.nvm/versions/node/v4.2.1/bin that includes gulp after nvm use.
We can avoid this issue temporarily in Windows rather than Linux, by using bin/code.js (in some cases).

So, the point of this issue is NOT that these paths are not already added to PATH, it is that we have no way to do it when VS Code starts. For example, VS Code sets environment variables a user specified when it starts, or it gives a chance such as "Startup Script(or Command)" to do something. (This Startup Script(or Command) makes nvm run, or it adds these paths to PATH.)
#1895 (comment)

[joaomoreno]

Now here's what I don't understand. getUserEnvironment() was implemented to fix exactly this issue. By calling $SHELL -ilc env, it should've picked up .bash_profile or .bashrc which contains the call to nvm, which would set the variables correctly. I can confirm that works because I also use nvm every day on OS X. It works for me. And many others.

We just have to figure out what is different in your system that makes it not work. Where did nvm configure itself in your system? .bash_profile, .bashrc, some other config file?

[anseki]

Yes, .bashrc loads nvm in my system. And it seems that nvm.sh was done correctly.

I think that you might set nvm alias default before?, or you wrote .nvmrc?
That is, in your system, the paths were already added to PATH before you run nvm use, right? nvm use was already called automatically in some way.

Anyway, nvm default is not set in my system, and nvm use doesn't run automatically in my system. Also, some managers such as nvmw (for Windows) do not have an option that makes it run automatically, as default.

The paths may be already added to PATH when VS Code runs if a manager was called automatically in some way, otherwise these are not.

[anseki]

Maybe, does your system have a default node? (node that was installed without nvm)

[joaomoreno]

I see. So, when you spawn a shell in your system you don't have a node in the PATH? You always need to run nvm use every time you want to use Node?

[anseki]

In some cases, Yes.
In a machine I everyday use, I configured the "auto-run" version manager. In others, for example, I was using nvmw before, but nvmw has some issues for me, then I removed the setting for auto-run. (nvmw doesn't support auto-run itself, then I used "startup" of Windows.) Also, In another machine (Ubuntu), I didn't configure auto-run because I used it to compile some versions of node.
Maybe I think that cases that the auto-run is not used are not uncommon, because this option of many managers is turned off as default. And node is updated frequently.

[joaomoreno]

Got it. I argue your situation doesn't happen often. People usually either have node installed globally or just have a default node set up in nvm. I suggest you do the same.

An environment variable setup in settings.json wouldn't work for your, since you want to add to the PATH variable, not set it. A startup script could work, but you can always achieve that outside of vscode by doing nvm use 0.12 ; code.

Another alternative would be to use a specific node as the task command and point it to the gulp or grunt entrypoints inside the node_modules folder.