Issue with nodejs repo and npm package conflict about puppet-nodejs

[kenyon]

IMO it's best to avoid non-distribution package repos if possible. I use this module like this on Debian:

class { 'nodejs':
  manage_package_repo => false,
  npm_package_ensure  => present,
}

[cruelsmith]

Issue still exist and the reason is puppet itself. Found via debug run (CentOS 8 Stream system):

Debug: Executing: '/bin/rpm -q npm --nosignature --nodigest --qf %{NAME} %|EPOCH?{%{EPOCH}}:{0}| %{VERSION} %{RELEASE} %{ARCH}\n'
Debug: Executing: '/bin/rpm -q npm --nosignature --nodigest --qf %{NAME} %|EPOCH?{%{EPOCH}}:{0}| %{VERSION} %{RELEASE} %{ARCH}\n --whatprovides'
Notice: /Stage[main]/Nodejs::Install/Package[npm]/ensure: current_value '2:16.20.1-1nodesource', should be 'absent' (noop) (corrective)

So the problem is that package also checks for whatprovides and because of that removed the nodejs package again. Properly the same issue on Debian / Ubuntu and other OSs. Only happens with the nodesource packages since npm in bundled in the nodejs package from them.

---

Current workaround would be to use nodejs::npm_package_name: false to ensure that Package[npm] is not manged at all and hope that other dependencies do not break. See

puppet-nodejs/manifests/install.pp

Lines 47 to 52 in 30161b2

	if $nodejs::npm_package_name and $nodejs::npm_package_name != false {
	package { $nodejs::npm_package_name:
	ensure => $nodejs::npm_package_ensure,
	tag => 'nodesource_repo',
	}
	}