Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

On macOS, when brew install node@22 fails during install.sh, the installer proceeds as if it succeeded and prints a misleading error plus PATH remediation pointing to /opt/homebrew/opt/node@22/bin — a directory that does not exist after the failed install.

Steps to reproduce

1. macOS with a prior Node manager (Volta / nvm / fnm) already on PATH resolving to node < 22.
2. Run curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash (or download and run) in a terminal where brew install node@22 fails under the installer's gum spin wrapper.
3. Observe the output and the resulting on-disk state.

Expected behavior

When brew install node@22 fails, the installer should stop, surface the brew error (or its captured log), and not print PATH advice that points at a nonexistent directory. The Node.js v22 was installed but this shell is using … remediation should apply only when node@22 is actually on disk but not first on PATH.

Actual behavior

The installer emits:

INFO Installing Node.js via Homebrew
inappropriate ioctl for device
ERROR Node.js v22 was installed but this shell is using v16.19.0 (/Users/<user>/.volta/bin/node)
Add this to your shell profile and restart shell:
  export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/node@22/bin:$PATH"

…but /opt/homebrew/opt/node@22 does not exist on disk after the run, and brew list --versions | grep '^node' returns no rows. The PATH advice directs the user to prepend a nonexistent directory, leaving node still resolving via the previous manager.

OpenClaw version

installer script served by https://openclaw.ai/install.sh on 2026-04-22 (~87 KB)

Operating system

macOS 15 (Apple Silicon)

Install method

/Users/<user>/Downloads/install.sh (downloaded from openclaw.ai), invoked directly in an interactive zsh.

Model

NOT_ENOUGH_INFO

Provider / routing chain

NOT_ENOUGH_INFO

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Transcript (second run, same outcome as the first):

➜  ~ VERBOSE=1 /Users/<user>/Downloads/install.sh
✓ gum bootstrapped (temp, verified, v0.17.0)
✓ Detected: macos

Install plan
OS                  macos
Install method      npm
Requested version   latest
INFO Existing OpenClaw installation detected, upgrading

[1/3] Preparing environment
✓ Homebrew already installed
INFO Node.js v16.19.0 found, upgrading to v22+
INFO Installing Node.js via Homebrew
inappropriate ioctl for device
ERROR Node.js v22 was installed but this shell is using v16.19.0 (/Users/<user>/.volta/bin/node)
Add this to your shell profile and restart shell:
  export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/node@22/bin:$PATH"

Post-run state:

$ ls /opt/homebrew/opt/node@22
ls: /opt/homebrew/opt/node@22: No such file or directory
$ brew list --versions | grep '^node'
(no output)

Running brew install node@22 directly in the same shell (no installer wrapping) succeeds and produces /opt/homebrew/opt/node@22/bin/node v22.22.2_2, confirming the failure is in how the installer wraps the invocation, not in brew itself.

Relevant code paths in the installer copy served by openclaw.ai:

• scripts/install.sh:1524-1532 (`install_node`) — `run_quiet_step "Installing node@22" brew install node@22` is called as a bare statement; its return is not checked before `brew link` and `ensure_macos_node22_active` run. `set -e` does not catch a non-zero return here because `run_quiet_step`'s verbose branch ends in `return $?`, which bash treats as self-handled.
• scripts/install.sh:1308-1342 (`ensure_macos_node22_active`) — uses `brew --prefix node@22`, which returns `/opt/homebrew/opt/node@22` with exit 0 even for uninstalled formulae, to build the PATH remediation string. Emits `Node.js v22 was installed but this shell is using …` regardless of whether `${brew_node_prefix}/bin/node` exists.

Impact and severity

• Affected: macOS users with another Node manager (Volta / nvm / fnm) ahead of Homebrew on PATH, where brew install node@22 fails under the installer's wrapper.
• Severity: medium. Real failure is hidden, the "was installed" message erodes trust, and the PATH advice points at a nonexistent directory.
• Frequency: 2/2 runs on the reporting machine.
• Consequence: installer one-liner cannot complete; user has to diagnose the silent brew failure manually.

Additional information

• Related: PR #51436 addresses the separate inappropriate ioctl for device leak in run_with_spinner. This issue is about the downstream silent-failure + misleading-remediation path and is independent.
• Workaround: run brew install node@22 directly before invoking install.sh.