[Windows] npm fails to install optional native dependencies (lightningcss, @tailwindcss/oxide)

[rbctmz]

Description

On Windows, npm install fails to properly install optional native dependencies required for the project, specifically:

• lightningcss-win32-x64-msvc
• @tailwindcss/oxide-win32-x64-msvc
• @rollup/rollup-win32-x64-msvc

This is a known npm bug related to optional dependencies: npm/cli#4828

Environment

• OS: Windows 11
• Node.js: v22.14.0
• npm: (version included with Node.js)
• Project version: 0.0.6

Steps to Reproduce

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/vakovalskii/LocalDesk.git
   cd LocalDesk

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Try to run development mode:

   npm run dev:win

Expected Behavior

The application should start successfully with all native dependencies properly installed.

Actual Behavior

Error 1: Rollup

Error: Cannot find module @rollup/rollup-win32-x64-msvc

Error 2: Lightningcss

Error: Cannot find module '../lightningcss.win32-x64-msvc.node'
Require stack:
- C:\Users\...\LocalDesk\node_modules\@tailwindcss\node\node_modules\lightningcss\node\index.js

Error 3: Tailwind Oxide

Error: Cannot find native binding. npm has a bug related to optional dependencies
(https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/4828)

Workaround

After running npm install, manually install the missing native modules:

# Install missing native dependencies
npm install @rollup/rollup-win32-x64-msvc --save-dev --force
npm install lightningcss-win32-x64-msvc@1.31.1 --save-dev --force
npm install @tailwindcss/oxide-win32-x64-msvc@4.1.18 --save-dev --force

Then run the application:

# Terminal 1 - Start Vite dev server
npm run dev:react

# Terminal 2 - Start Electron
$env:NODE_ENV="development"; npx electron . --no-sandbox

Suggested Fix

Update the README.md to include Windows-specific installation instructions with the workaround, or consider one of these solutions:

Option 1: Document the workaround

Add a troubleshooting section to README.md with the manual installation commands.

Option 2: Add postinstall script

Create a postinstall script that checks for Windows and installs these dependencies explicitly:

{
  "scripts": {
    "postinstall": "electron-rebuild -f -w better-sqlite3 || true && node scripts/fix-windows-deps.js"
  }
}

Option 3: Use different package manager

Document that Windows users can use yarn or pnpm which handle optional dependencies better:

# Using yarn
yarn install
yarn dev

# Using pnpm  
pnpm install
pnpm dev

Additional Notes

• This issue is specific to npm on Windows
• The issue does not occur on macOS/Linux
• Yarn and pnpm do not have this problem
• After manual installation of native modules, the application runs correctly

Related Issues

• npm bug: [BUG] Platform-specific optional dependencies not being included in package-lock.json when reinstalling with node_modules present npm/cli#4828
• Similar issues in other projects using native modules with optional dependencies