Bad release?

[lysein]

🐞 Bug Description

Describe the bug
bmad-method@6.x alpha fails to install due to an ESM/CommonJS incompatibility. The CLI uses require("inquirer"), but inquirer is ESM-only, causing a hard crash (ERR_REQUIRE_ESM) during installation. This occurs even though the package declares node >= 20 as a required engine.

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🔁 Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Node.js 18 or 20 (tested with both):

   nvm install 18
   nvm use 18

2. Clear npm cache:

   rm -rf ~/.npm
   npm cache clean --force

3. Run the installer:

   npx bmad-method@alpha install

4. Confirm installation when prompted.

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✅ Expected Behavior

The installer should run successfully on a supported Node.js version, or at minimum fail gracefully with a clear message if the runtime is unsupported.

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🧩 Environment Details (be specific)

• BMad Method version: 6.0.0-alpha.21
• Node.js version: v18.20.8 (also reproducible on v20.13.1)
• Model(s) used: N/A
• Agentic IDE used: N/A
• Website used: N/A
• Project language: JavaScript / Node.js

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🔧 Proposed Fix / PR

The installer is CommonJS but depends on ESM-only inquirer. Possible fixes:

• Replace require("inquirer") with a dynamic import:

  const inquirer = (await import("inquirer")).default;

  (installer would need to be async), or

• Pin inquirer to a CommonJS-compatible version (≤ v8), or

• Convert the CLI to full ESM and update imports accordingly.

I’m happy to submit a PR once the preferred approach is confirmed.

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📎 Screenshots or Logs

Error [ERR_REQUIRE_ESM]: require() of ES Module .../node_modules/inquirer/lib/index.js
from .../installer.js not supported.
Instead change the require of index.js to a dynamic import()

Additional warnings:

npm WARN EBADENGINE required: { node: '>=20.0.0' }

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📝 Additional Context

• The issue is not environment-specific and reproduces on clean macOS setups.
• bmad-method@4.x installs correctly, suggesting the regression was introduced in the alpha branch.
• The current alpha release appears to declare Node ≥ 20 while still relying on CommonJS patterns incompatible with ESM-only dependencies.

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[moElwan]

I can replicate the same issue and had to fall back to 6.0.0-alpha.20

[ClaudeZ101]

I encountered the same issue when installing 6.0.0-alpha.21, but installing 6.0.0-alpha.20 in the same environment worked fine.

[bmadcode]

yes found and fixed the issue and merged it. Should be good once I release .22

[aristide]

yes found and fixed the issue and merged it. Should be good once I release .22

@bmadcode , I tried the 6.0.0-alpha.22 release, but the issue has not been resolved yet. You need to downgrade Inquirer to version 8.2.6—that’s what I did by forking the repository to make it work.