NX Module Loading Error in GitHub Actions for Angular Projects

Developing Angular projects using NX in continuous integration (CI) environments like GitHub Actions can sometimes lead to unexpected module loading errors. A common issue is the failure to find specific NX binaries suitable for the platform, leading to errors like “Error: Cannot find module ‘@nx/nx-linux-x64-gnu’”. This blog post explores solutions to this problem, ensuring smooth CI builds for your Angular projects using NX.

Understanding the Issue

The error typically indicates that NX’s CLI cannot locate the native binary for your system’s platform (e.g., linux-x64). This might be due to optional dependencies not being installed correctly during the build process. Optional dependencies are crucial for NX to function correctly in different environments, especially in CI pipelines like GitHub Actions.

Effective Solutions to Resolve the Issue

1. Ensuring Optional Dependencies Are Included

To make sure all required binaries are available, explicitly define and include optional dependencies in your package.json. This ensures they are considered during the installation process.

Example package.json Configuration:

{
  "optionalDependencies": {
    "@nx/nx-darwin-arm64": "latest",
    "@nx/nx-darwin-x64": "latest",
    "@nx/nx-linux-x64-gnu": "latest",
    "@nx/nx-win32-x64-msvc": "latest"
  }
}

Updating GitHub Actions Workflow:

In your GitHub Actions workflow file, modify the step for installing dependencies to include optional dependencies explicitly.

- name: Install dependencies
  run: npm ci --include=optional

This change ensures that during the CI process, all platform-specific binaries are checked and installed if available.

2. Managing NPM Versions

Another approach is to manage the versions of NPM used during the CI process. Sometimes, newer or older versions of NPM handle dependencies differently, which can affect the availability of optional dependencies.

Example Workflow Adjustments:

steps:
  - name: Setup Node.js
    uses: actions/setup-node@v2
    with:
      node-version: '14' # Ensures compatibility with NPM 6

  - name: Downgrade NPM
    run: npm install -g npm@6

  - name: Install Dependencies
    run: npm install

  - name: Upgrade NPM and Update Lock File
    run: |
      npm install -g npm@latest
      npm install # Re-run to update the lock file with the latest NPM

This sequence ensures that NPM’s handling of optional dependencies does not interfere with the proper setup of NX binaries.

Additional Tips

• Regularly Update NX: Keeping NX and its dependencies updated can help avoid compatibility issues, as newer versions may have fixed bugs related to dependency management.
• Check System Dependencies: Ensure your CI environment has all the necessary system libraries that NX might depend on, as some binaries might require specific system-level dependencies.
• Review NX Documentation: The NX documentation and troubleshooting guides are valuable resources for understanding specific errors and configuration recommendations for different environments.

Dealing with errors related to missing NX modules in a CI environment can be challenging but is typically resolvable with proper configuration and understanding of NPM and NX’s dependency management. By ensuring that optional dependencies are correctly handled and adjusting your CI setup accordingly, you can achieve a more reliable and robust build process for your Angular projects using NX in GitHub Actions.