npx sb init doesn't work

[airtonix]

but sb is actually :

thing on git master [x!+?] via nodejs v16.6.1 took 2s 
x npx sb init --help      

sb version 0.12.20
Usage: sb [options] file ...
   or: sb [options] -{c|i} COMMAND
Send file(s) with ZMODEM/YMODEM/XMODEM protocol
    (X) = option applies to XMODEM only
    (Y) = option applies to YMODEM only
    (Z) = option applies to ZMODEM only
  -+, --append                append to existing destination file (Z)
  -2, --twostop               use 2 stop bits
  -4, --try-4k                go up to 4K blocksize
      --start-4k              start with 4K blocksize (doesn't try 8)
  -8, --try-8k                go up to 8K blocksize
      --start-8k              start with 8K blocksize
  -a, --ascii                 ASCII transfer (change CR/LF to LF)
  -b, --binary                binary transfer
  -B, --bufsize N             buffer N bytes (N==auto: buffer whole file)
  -c, --command COMMAND       execute remote command COMMAND (Z)
  -C, --command-tries N       try N times to execute a command (Z)
  -d, --dot-to-slash          change '.' to '/' in pathnames (Y/Z)
      --delay-startup N       sleep N seconds before doing anything
  -e, --escape                escape all control characters (Z)
  -E, --rename                force receiver to rename files it already has
  -f, --full-path             send full pathname (Y/Z)
  -i, --immediate-command CMD send remote CMD, return immediately (Z)
  -h, --help                  print this usage message
  -k, --1k                    send 1024 byte packets (X)
  -L, --packetlen N           limit subpacket length to N bytes (Z)
  -l, --framelen N            limit frame length to N bytes (l>=L) (Z)
  -m, --min-bps N             stop transmission if BPS below N
  -M, --min-bps-time N          for at least N seconds (default: 120)
  -n, --newer                 send file if source newer (Z)
  -N, --newer-or-longer       send file if source newer or longer (Z)
  -o, --16-bit-crc            use 16 bit CRC instead of 32 bit CRC (Z)
  -O, --disable-timeouts      disable timeout code, wait forever
  -p, --protect               protect existing destination file (Z)
  -r, --resume                resume interrupted file transfer (Z)
  -R, --restricted            restricted, more secure mode
  -q, --quiet                 quiet (no progress reports)
  -s, --stop-at {HH:MM|+N}    stop transmission at HH:MM or in N seconds
      --tcp                   build a TCP connection to transmit files
      --tcp-server            open socket, wait for connection
  -u, --unlink                unlink file after transmission
  -U, --unrestrict            turn off restricted mode (if allowed to)
  -v, --verbose               be verbose, provide debugging information
  -w, --windowsize N          Window is N bytes (Z)
  -X, --xmodem                use XMODEM protocol
  -y, --overwrite             overwrite existing files
  -Y, --overwrite-or-skip     overwrite existing files, else skip
      --ymodem                use YMODEM protocol
  -Z, --zmodem                use ZMODEM protocol

short options use the same arguments as the long ones

[airtonix]

Why did you guys remove the steps to manually install storybook into a project.

so ways to fix this problem:

• update the documentation in the screenshot above with something like : npx --package <storybook-package-that-provides-the-sb-command sb init
• just outline the steps to manually setup storybook (preferred).

[airtonix]

so it turns out that the storybook team naively expected no one else on earth to publish a package providing a binary called sb...

for those who want to run the sb command properly:

npx --package @storybook/cli  sb init

https://github.com/storybookjs/storybook/tree/next/lib/cli

[shilman]

@airtonix any chance you can figure out which package is installing the binary called sb?

[airtonix]

@shilman There might be a way utilising vscodes javascript debugging tool and breakpoints in npx itself... not heaps hopeful on this outcome.

even if we discover who it was... it feels like a thing that will keep happening, since NPM.js only protects against package name squatting.

[shilman]

@airtonix what version of npm are you running?

So far I'm not able to reproduce this. We do own the npm package called sb, which is how this currently works for most users.

[shilman]

What if you run:

more ./node_modules/.bin/sb

[airtonix]

@shilman yeah but doesn't npx works like this ?

• does sb exist in some node_modules/.bin ?
• does sb exist on the PATH
• try to install something from npmjs that provides sb

so in my case Fedora 34 provides a /usr/bin/sb:

$ yum provides /usr/bin/sb
...snips butt loads of dnf update spam...

lrzsz-0.12.20-53.fc34.x86_64 : The lrz and lsz modem communications programs
Repo        : @System
Matched from:
Filename    : /usr/bin/sb

lrzsz-0.12.20-53.fc34.x86_64 : The lrz and lsz modem communications programs
Repo        : fedora
Matched from:
Filename    : /usr/bin/sb

But it illustrates a problem with the documentation:

• on any OS there might be something else that gives /usr/bin/sb,
• the use might have PATH=${HOME}/bin;${PATH} in their profile ( and they are amazing at naming things so call a custom tool ~/bin/sb 🤷🏻 you can't control this.

[airtonix]

yep, earlier i didn't have @storybook/cli installed, but now that I do, npx sb ... always uses the cli you created.

if i step outside of the repo or clear my npm cache (I think), then npx goes back to resolving sb from /usr/bin/sb

[shilman]

@airtonix when I run:

$ which ncdu
/usr/local/bin/ncdu

However, when I run:

$ npx ncdu
Need to install the following packages:
  ncdu
Ok to proceed? (y)
...

It downloads and installs https://www.npmjs.com/package/ncdu, which is a different program.

EDIT: it looks like it downloads the package and then perhaps executes the existing binary from /usr/local/bin 🤦

[airtonix]

@shilman have you ever downloaded that package before?

[airtonix]

i'm spinning up a newly created directory with a version of node i've never used before via asdf and wiping my ~/.npm

[airtonix]

i think the easiest way to avoid this annoying behaviour and time sink it would bring for you is to update documentation so that any mention of npx sb ... is changed to npx --package @storybook/cli sb ...

[airtonix]

i can't reproduce anymore is keeps wanting to correctly install an sb package

[shilman]

Yeah, we also have the package storybook, so I think we're going to switch to that instead:

npx storybook init

This will have the same problem, if somebody installs a binary called storybook in their path. But I think that's a much lower possibility than sb, which looks like it's a built-in utility in some linux distributions

[airtonix]

@shilman did you want to leave this issue open? or are you actioning this somewhere else ?

[shilman]

Tracking at #17934 and closing this. Thanks so much @airtonix for helping debug this!!! 🙏

[shilman]

@airtonix if you type npx sb@latest init does that fix it?