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fix(macos-init): improve init flow and drop chalk dependency#2858

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Saadnajmi merged 3 commits into
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Saadnajmi:saadnajmi/improve-macos-init
Mar 20, 2026
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fix(macos-init): improve init flow and drop chalk dependency#2858
Saadnajmi merged 3 commits into
microsoft:mainfrom
Saadnajmi:saadnajmi/improve-macos-init

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@Saadnajmi

@Saadnajmi Saadnajmi commented Mar 20, 2026

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Summary

  • Remove redundant dependency install (generate-macos.js was running npm i/yarn a second time after cli.ts already installed react-native-macos)
  • Show actual npm/yarn errors on install failure instead of swallowing them with --silent
  • Validate peer dependencies before install and warn on version mismatch
  • Fix finish message: remove nonexistent yarn start:macos, show correct pod install, npx react-native run-macos and npx react-native start
  • Replace chalk with Node's built-in node:util styleText (available since Node 20.12), add engines.node field
  • Re-enable integration test CI without Verdaccio (fixes ci: re-enable verdaccio dependent tests #2344) — installs local package directly via npm install <path>

Motivation

Users hitting npx react-native-macos-init frequently encounter silent failures from peer dependency mismatches (e.g. react-native-macos@0.81.4 requires react-native@0.81.6 exactly, but --version 0.81 installs the latest patch). The --silent flag hid the actual error. The finish message referenced a nonexistent yarn start:macos script.

Addresses the same root issue as #2785 and #2793 but with a broader fix.

Test plan

  • Created a new project with npx @react-native-community/cli init testapp --version 0.81.6
  • Ran modified init — happy path: no peer dep warning, correct finish message
  • Tested mismatch path (react-native@0.81.5 vs required 0.81.6) — warning fires before install with clear message
  • TypeScript compiles cleanly
  • Re-enabled CI integration test (no longer depends on Verdaccio)

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

@Saadnajmi Saadnajmi requested a review from a team as a code owner March 20, 2026 05:31
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changeset-bot Bot commented Mar 20, 2026

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⚠️ No Changeset found

Latest commit: ac862f5

Merging this PR will not cause a version bump for any packages. If these changes should not result in a new version, you're good to go. If these changes should result in a version bump, you need to add a changeset.

Click here to learn what changesets are, and how to add one.

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- Remove redundant dependency install (generate-macos.js was running
  npm i/yarn after cli.ts already installed react-native-macos)
- Show npm/yarn errors on install failure instead of hiding them with
  --silent flag
- Validate peer dependencies before install and warn on mismatch
- Auto-run pod install after template generation (non-fatal on failure)
- Fix finish message: remove nonexistent yarn start:macos, show correct
  npx react-native run-macos and npx react-native start commands

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
@Saadnajmi Saadnajmi force-pushed the saadnajmi/improve-macos-init branch 2 times, most recently from b1485c1 to fc29974 Compare March 20, 2026 05:38
Comment thread packages/react-native-macos-init/package.json
@Saadnajmi

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@copilot update the engines field in the react-native-macos-init package json per the below comment, and update the lock file.

"We need the engines field to ensure users have a recent enough version of Node for styleText"

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Pull request overview

This PR updates the macOS initialization/generation flow to avoid redundant installs, improve install-time diagnostics, and modernize CLI output formatting by removing the chalk dependency in favor of Node’s built-in util.styleText.

Changes:

  • Remove the extra npm i/yarn dependency install step from the macOS generator flow.
  • Improve react-native-macos-init behavior by validating react-native-macos peer deps up front and surfacing real npm/yarn error output on install failures.
  • Replace chalk usage with node:util styleText and update the final “next steps” messaging.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file
File Description
packages/react-native/local-cli/generator-macos/index.js Drops chalk, removes dependency-install helper, updates finish instructions (and now has unused requires).
packages/react-native/local-cli/generator-common/index.js Replaces chalk styling with styleText in file-copy callbacks.
packages/react-native/local-cli/generate-macos.js Stops calling the removed dependency-install step.
packages/react-native-macos-init/src/cli.ts Removes chalk, adds peer-dep validation + improved install failure output, switches to styleText.
packages/react-native-macos-init/package.json Removes chalk dependencies and adds @types/node.

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Comment thread packages/react-native/local-cli/generator-macos/index.js
Comment thread packages/react-native-macos-init/src/cli.ts
Comment thread packages/react-native/local-cli/generator-common/index.js
Comment thread packages/react-native-macos-init/src/cli.ts
@Saadnajmi Saadnajmi force-pushed the saadnajmi/improve-macos-init branch 4 times, most recently from a0e9180 to 33b103e Compare March 20, 2026 19:30
Saadnajmi and others added 2 commits March 20, 2026 14:51
Drop the chalk dependency in favor of Node's built-in styleText API
(available since Node 20.12). Add @types/node@^22 as a devDependency
for proper type resolution.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Replace the Verdaccio-based integration test with a simpler approach
that installs the local react-native-macos package directly via
npm install <path>. This avoids the Verdaccio hang issue (microsoft#2344)
while still testing the full init flow end-to-end: project creation,
template application, pod install, and macOS build.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
@Saadnajmi Saadnajmi force-pushed the saadnajmi/improve-macos-init branch from 33b103e to ac862f5 Compare March 20, 2026 19:52
@Saadnajmi Saadnajmi merged commit 2a222b2 into microsoft:main Mar 20, 2026
16 checks passed
@Saadnajmi Saadnajmi deleted the saadnajmi/improve-macos-init branch March 20, 2026 21:45
Saadnajmi added a commit that referenced this pull request Mar 20, 2026
…2859)

## Summary
- Remove redundant dependency install (`generate-macos.js` was running
`npm i`/`yarn` a second time after `cli.ts` already installed
`react-native-macos`)
- Show actual npm/yarn errors on install failure instead of swallowing
them with `--silent`
- Validate peer dependencies before install and warn on version mismatch
- Fix finish message: remove nonexistent `yarn start:macos`, show
correct `pod install`, `npx react-native run-macos` and `npx
react-native start`
- Replace `chalk` with Node's built-in `node:util` `styleText`
(available since Node 20.12), add `engines.node` field
- Re-enable integration test CI without Verdaccio (fixes #2344) —
installs local package directly via `npm install <path>`

## Motivation
Users hitting `npx react-native-macos-init` frequently encounter silent
failures from peer dependency mismatches (e.g.
`react-native-macos@0.81.4` requires `react-native@0.81.6` exactly, but
`--version 0.81` installs the latest patch). The `--silent` flag hid the
actual error. The finish message referenced a nonexistent `yarn
start:macos` script.

Addresses the same root issue as #2785 and #2793 but with a broader fix.

Backport of #2858.

## Test plan
- [x] Created a new project with `npx @react-native-community/cli init
testapp --version 0.81.6`
- [x] Ran modified init — happy path: no peer dep warning, correct
finish message
- [x] Tested mismatch path (`react-native@0.81.5` vs required `0.81.6`)
— warning fires before install with clear message
- [x] TypeScript compiles cleanly
- [x] Re-enabled CI integration test (no longer depends on Verdaccio)

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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ci: re-enable verdaccio dependent tests

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