Cannot run `npm install` due to dependency conflicts in eslint packages

[lindapaiste]

Increasing Access

Currently you cannot run npm install to set up the development environment. You must run npm install --legacy-peer-deps. This could be confusing to new developers and make it harder to contribute.

Feature enhancement details

I'm creating this issue so that I can fix it.

npm install does not work in this repo right now due to a dependency conflict on the eslint package. We are using eslint version 7.31.0. However we are using an outdated version of eslint-config-airbnb which expects a much older version of eslint.

We have eslint-config-airbnb@^16.1.0 which expects a peer dependency of eslint@^4.9.0. We can fix the conflict by updating the eslint-config-airbnb package to its latest version which is in the 19.x range -- up 3 major versions. This has not been done previously because updating that package introduces lots of new rules and causes lots of code to fail linting checks. I opened #2217 to discuss the specifics of what new rules we like and don't like. In order to upgrade the package and fix the npm install conflict without changing lots of code, I recommend modifying the .eslintrc config to mimic the current rule conditions. We can then tackle rules one-by-one.

[Sudarshan-21]

@lindapaiste while running "npm install --legacy-peer-deps" on linux, I am getting this error,



is this something related to my local machine or is there anything I am doing wrong

[Harshit-7373]

@lindapaiste @Sudarshan-21 @raclim

1. Clear the npm cache by running. (npm cache clean --force)
2. Run the installation again with the legacy peer dependency flag by running. (npm install --legacy-peer-deps)
3. If the problem persists, try forcing the installation by running. npm install --force

[dmarcotte]

Looks like this is due to using an incorrect npm version—newer npm versions give the error, but with node version 16.14.2 and npm version 8.5.0, the install succeeds.

This node/npm combo is specified in docs contributor_docs/installation.md—I initially missed it too.

Here's some console output demonstrating the issue and the fix:

$ npm -v
11.2.0

$ npm install
npm error code ERESOLVE
npm error ERESOLVE could not resolve
npm error
npm error While resolving: eslint-config-airbnb@16.1.0
npm error Found: eslint@7.31.0
npm error node_modules/eslint
npm error   dev eslint@"^7.31.0" from the root project
npm error   peer eslint@"^7.5.0 || ^8.0.0" from @babel/eslint-parser@7.17.0
npm error   node_modules/@babel/eslint-parser
npm error     dev @babel/eslint-parser@"^7.17.0" from the root project
npm error   9 more (eslint-config-prettier, eslint-plugin-import, ...)
npm error
npm error Could not resolve dependency:
npm error peer eslint@"^4.9.0" from eslint-config-airbnb@16.1.0
npm error node_modules/eslint-config-airbnb
npm error   dev eslint-config-airbnb@"^16.1.0" from the root project
npm error
npm error Conflicting peer dependency: eslint@4.19.1
npm error node_modules/eslint
npm error   peer eslint@"^4.9.0" from eslint-config-airbnb@16.1.0
npm error   node_modules/eslint-config-airbnb
npm error     dev eslint-config-airbnb@"^16.1.0" from the root project
npm error
npm error Fix the upstream dependency conflict, or retry
npm error this command with --force or --legacy-peer-deps
npm error to accept an incorrect (and potentially broken) dependency resolution.
npm error
npm error
npm error For a full report see:
npm error /Users/daniel/.npm/_logs/2025-04-05T21_12_01_031Z-eresolve-report.txt
npm error A complete log of this run can be found in: /Users/daniel/.npm/_logs/2025-04-05T21_12_01_031Z-debug-0.log

$ nvm use 16.14.2
Now using node v16.14.2 (npm v8.5.0)

$ npm install
npm WARN EBADENGINE Unsupported engine {
npm WARN EBADENGINE   package: 'execa@8.0.1',
npm WARN EBADENGINE   required: { node: '>=16.17' },
npm WARN EBADENGINE   current: { node: 'v16.14.2', npm: '8.5.0' }
npm WARN EBADENGINE }
npm WARN EBADENGINE Unsupported engine {
npm WARN EBADENGINE   package: 'human-signals@5.0.0',
npm WARN EBADENGINE   required: { node: '>=16.17.0' },
npm WARN EBADENGINE   current: { node: 'v16.14.2', npm: '8.5.0' }
npm WARN EBADENGINE }

up to date, audited 3094 packages in 3s

410 packages are looking for funding
  run `npm fund` for details

117 vulnerabilities (7 low, 63 moderate, 44 high, 3 critical)

To address issues that do not require attention, run:
  npm audit fix

To address all issues possible (including breaking changes), run:
  npm audit fix --force

Some issues need review, and may require choosing
a different dependency.

Run `npm audit` for details.