[Error: unable to write 'random state' ] about node-passbook

[danmactough]

We also experienced this error when trying to use this library in Lambda function on AWS. The reason is that openssl tries to create a file .rnd containing that random state to your HOME directory, which you don't have write access to in the Lambda environment.

Our solution was to monkey patch lib/pass.js at build time to rewrite Line 362:

-  var sign = execFile("openssl", args, { stdio: "pipe" }, function(error, stdout, stderr) {
+  var sign = execFile("openssl", args, { stdio: "pipe", env: { HOME: tmpdir } }, function(error, stdout, stderr) {

tmpdir was a directory we created at build time.

[timoweiss]

@danmactough good catch! @albatarnik:
You can also set your HOME environment variable before creating your pass.
process.env.HOME = yourTempDir;

Note: you might want to reset the environment variable again after pass creation.

[sharath-yml]

@timoweiss We had the same issue while trying to run the node server as daemon using upstart or forever-service. This should be put somewhere in the Readme, because many people may end up having this issue trying to use it on production.