OSX High Sierra重装npm后需sudo运行，Electron安装仍失败求助

Hey there, let's work through your problems one by one—first fixing the need for sudo with all npm commands, then resolving that persistent Electron postinstall error.

Fixing the Sudo Requirement for npm #

This almost always comes down to incorrect permissions on npm's global directories. Here's how to fix it properly:

• First, check where npm is currently set to install global packages:

  npm config get prefix
  

  If the output is /usr or /usr/local, that's why you need sudo—npm is trying to write to system-level directories.

• Reconfigure npm to use a user-specific directory instead:

  1. Create a dedicated global npm folder in your home directory:

     mkdir -p ~/.npm-global
     

  2. Tell npm to use this new path:

     npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
     

  3. Update your shell's configuration file (e.g., ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.profile) to add this directory to your PATH:

     echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
     

     Replace .bashrc with your shell's config file if you're using something like Zsh.
  4. Reload the shell configuration to apply changes immediately:

     source ~/.bashrc
     

• Clean up any lingering permission issues from previous sudo installs:

  sudo chown -R $USER:$USER ~/.npm
  sudo chown -R $USER:$USER ~/.node_modules  # Only run this if the folder exists
  

After these steps, you should be able to run npm commands without sudo—test it with npm -v to confirm.

Resolving Electron's Postinstall Error #

The postinstall failure often ties to network issues downloading Electron's binary (since it pulls from GitHub) or version compatibility with your Node.js setup. Let's try these fixes:

1. Clear npm's cache first to eliminate corrupted cached files:

   npm cache clean --force
   

2. Use a mirror for Electron binaries (especially helpful if you're in a region with limited GitHub access):

   • For a one-time install, run:

     npm install electron --registry=https://registry.npmmirror.com --electron_mirror=https://npmmirror.com/mirrors/electron/
     

   • To set this mirror permanently so you don't have to specify it every time:

     npm config set electron_mirror https://npmmirror.com/mirrors/electron/
     npm config set registry https://registry.npmmirror.com
     

3. Check Node.js version compatibility: You're using Node.js 8.9.0, which is quite old. Newer Electron versions drop support for Node 8—try installing a version of Electron that's compatible with Node 8, like:

   npm install electron@1.8.8
   

4. Avoid using sudo for Electron installs: Now that npm is configured to use your user directory, running sudo npm install will cause permission mismatches. Always run npm commands as your regular user.

5. Get detailed error logs: If the issue persists, run the install with verbose logging to pinpoint exactly where it's failing:

   npm install electron --verbose
   

   Look for lines mentioning failed downloads, permission denied errors, or script execution failures—this will help narrow down the root cause.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者theusual