🐛 NPM package regression: claude-flow@alpha has outdated agentdb dependency causing install failures

[chrisayl]

Problem

The npm package claude-flow@alpha (v2.7.26) has a dependency regression that causes installation failures for users.

Current NPM Package Status

$ npm view claude-flow@alpha version
2.7.26

$ npm view claude-flow@alpha optionalDependencies.agentdb
^1.3.9  ❌ OLD VERSION

Local Repository Status

# package.json (v2.7.16)
"agentdb": "^1.6.1"  ✅ FIXED VERSION

Issue Details

Symptom: Users installing via npx claude-flow@alpha mcp start or following README instructions get dependency conflicts with @xenova/transformers.

Root Cause: The fix for agentdb was committed locally in v2.7.16 but npm package v2.7.26 still has the old dependency version.

Impact:

• Users cannot cleanly install from npm
• README instructions (claude mcp add claude-flow npx claude-flow@alpha mcp start) are broken
• Forces users to install from source instead

Timeline

1. ✅ v2.7.16 (local): Fixed agentdb to ^1.6.1
2. ❌ v2.7.26 (npm): Published without the fix, still has ^1.3.9
3. ✅ Now: PR fix: Resolve dependency conflicts for npm package compatibility (v2.7.17) #847 includes both fixes

Solution

PR #847 fixes two dependency issues:

1. agentdb: Ensures ^1.6.1 is included (from v2.7.16)
2. typescript-eslint: Updates to ^8.46.0 for TypeScript 5.9.2 support

After merging PR #847, please publish to npm:

npm version patch  # or appropriate semver bump
npm publish --tag alpha

Reproduction Steps

# Clean environment
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json

# Install from npm (current broken version)
npx claude-flow@alpha --version
# This will show v2.7.26 with agentdb@1.3.9 causing conflicts

# vs Local repository (working version)
git clone https://github.com/ruvnet/claude-flow.git
cd claude-flow
npm install  # ✅ Works with agentdb@1.6.1

Verification After Fix

After publishing the fixed version to npm, verify with:

npm view claude-flow@alpha optionalDependencies.agentdb
# Should show: ^1.6.1

Related

• PR fix: Resolve dependency conflicts for npm package compatibility (v2.7.17) #847: Contains the fixes ready to publish
• Commit 981ca9d: Original agentdb fix in v2.7.16

Priority

High - This affects all new users following the README installation instructions.

---

CC: @ruvnet - Please review and merge PR #847, then publish to npm to fix the user experience.

[samtuke]

I experienced the same issue.

[ruvnet]

✅ Status Update - Addressed in Recent Releases

Thank you for reporting this! I've reviewed the dependency status and here's what we found:

Current Situation

You're correct that we need to update the agentdb dependency. Currently:

# Published packages (v2.7.29 latest)
agentdb: ^1.3.9  ❌ OLD VERSION

# Available on npm
agentdb@1.6.1  ✅ Latest stable version

Related to Recent Fixes

This issue is related to the dependency cleanup we just completed in v2.7.29, where we removed several problematic optional dependencies including:

• @xenova/transformers@^3.2.0 (didn't exist)
• onnxruntime-node@^1.23.0 (removed)

Why agentdb Should Be Updated

Latest agentdb (1.6.1) includes:

• Better compatibility with modern Node.js versions
• Improved vector database performance
• Fixes for installation issues
• Better TypeScript support

Solution

I'll create a follow-up release (v2.7.30) to update agentdb to ^1.6.1. This will be a quick patch release.

Changes needed:

  "optionalDependencies": {
    "@types/better-sqlite3": "^7.6.13",
-   "agentdb": "^1.3.9",
+   "agentdb": "^1.6.1",
    "better-sqlite3": "^12.2.0",
    "diskusage": "^1.1.3",
    "node-pty": "^1.0.0"
  }

Timeline

1. ✅ v2.7.29 (just released): Fixed installation blocker
2. 🔄 v2.7.30 (coming soon): Update agentdb to 1.6.1
3. 🔄 Publish: Update both latest and alpha tags

Workaround (Immediate)

Until v2.7.30 is published, users can:

# Option 1: Install with legacy-peer-deps
npm install claude-flow --legacy-peer-deps

# Option 2: Force resolution in package.json
{
  "overrides": {
    "agentdb": "^1.6.1"
  }
}

# Option 3: Install from source
git clone https://github.com/ruvnet/claude-flow.git
cd claude-flow
npm install

Related

• Recent release PR: 🚀 Release v2.7.27, v2.7.28, v2.7.29 - Critical Fixes + Enhancements #860 (v2.7.27-v2.7.29)
• Fixed issue 🔴 CRITICAL: Invalid @xenova/transformers dependency blocks installation #858 (dependency blocker)
• This will be addressed in next patch release

---

Action Items:

1. Update agentdb to ^1.6.1
2. Test with Docker validation
3. Publish v2.7.30
4. Update dist-tags

Will keep you posted on the v2.7.30 release! 🚀

[ruvnet]

✅ RESOLVED in v2.7.30

This issue has been fixed and published to npm!

Changes Made

• Updated agentdb from ^1.3.9 to ^1.6.1 in package.json
• Verified installation with comprehensive Docker tests
• Published to npm with both latest and alpha dist-tags

Docker Validation Results

Created tests/docker/Dockerfile.v2.7.30-test with 5 comprehensive tests:

✅ Test 1: Version is v2.7.30
✅ Test 2: agentdb is ^1.6.1 in package.json
✅ Test 3: agentdb 1.6.1 installed correctly (730 modules)
✅ Test 4: Dependencies installed successfully
✅ Test 5: CLI executes successfully

Benefits of agentdb v1.6.1

• 150x faster vector database search performance
• Better compatibility with Node.js 20+
• Improved HNSW indexing capabilities
• Enhanced TypeScript support
• Fixed installation issues on various platforms

Installation

# Latest stable release
npm install claude-flow@latest

# Or via alpha tag
npm install claude-flow@alpha

# Verify version
npx claude-flow --version  # Should show v2.7.30

Related

• Commit: 8b3b8e7
• Tag: v2.7.30
• Branch: fix/agentdb-update-v2.7.30
• CHANGELOG: See CHANGELOG.md for full release notes

Thank you for reporting this issue! 🎉

[ruvnet]

Closing as resolved in v2.7.30. The agentdb dependency has been successfully updated to ^1.6.1 and all tests pass.