CI jobs fail with "node: not found" (exit 127): Alpine job image can't run JS actions #28

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opened 2026-07-12 23:32:57 +00:00 by hexajon · 1 comment

hexajon commented

2026-07-12 23:32:57 +00:00

(Migrated from codeberg.org)

Summary

Every job in .forgejo/workflows/ci.yml (and the surface-diff job in
drift.yml) fails immediately on Forgejo Actions, in the checkout step (the
first step of every job), with:

OCI runtime exec failed: exec failed: unable to start container process:
exec: "node": executable file not found in $PATH
⚙️ [runner]: exitcode '127': command not found

Because it fails at checkout, no job ever reaches its actual work.

Root cause

The jobs run in container: golang:1.26-alpine. Alpine is musl-libc and ships
no Node. Forgejo Actions runs JavaScript actions (checkout, cache,
hashFiles) by executing node inside the job container, and the Node used to
run those actions is glibc-linked — it cannot exec under musl. So checkout
dies with exit 127 before running. (Same class of problem as nektos/act#107.)

The gated forgejo-smoke job in drift.yml already uses the glibc
golang:1.26 image, so it is unaffected.

Fix

Run the jobs on a glibc base image — e.g. golang:1.26-trixie (Debian) — for
all ci.yml jobs and drift.yml's surface-diff. As a consequence, the
tool-install steps that use Alpine's apk must switch to apt-get:

golang:1.26-trixie already ships bash, git and python3, so the gosec
"install bash" step and the third-party-licenses apk add step are no
longer needed.
hook-tests installs jq via apt-get.
mcp-conformance installs nodejs + npm via apt-get.
trixie also ships gcc, which go test -race requires.

## Summary Every job in `.forgejo/workflows/ci.yml` (and the `surface-diff` job in `drift.yml`) fails immediately on Forgejo Actions, in the `checkout` step (the first step of every job), with: OCI runtime exec failed: exec failed: unable to start container process: exec: "node": executable file not found in $PATH ⚙️ [runner]: exitcode '127': command not found Because it fails at `checkout`, no job ever reaches its actual work. ## Root cause The jobs run in `container: golang:1.26-alpine`. Alpine is musl-libc and ships no Node. Forgejo Actions runs JavaScript actions (`checkout`, `cache`, `hashFiles`) by executing `node` inside the job container, and the Node used to run those actions is glibc-linked — it cannot exec under musl. So `checkout` dies with exit 127 before running. (Same class of problem as nektos/act#107.) The gated `forgejo-smoke` job in `drift.yml` already uses the glibc `golang:1.26` image, so it is unaffected. ## Fix Run the jobs on a glibc base image — e.g. `golang:1.26-trixie` (Debian) — for all `ci.yml` jobs and `drift.yml`'s `surface-diff`. As a consequence, the tool-install steps that use Alpine's `apk` must switch to `apt-get`: - `golang:1.26-trixie` already ships bash, git and python3, so the `gosec` "install bash" step and the `third-party-licenses` `apk add` step are no longer needed. - `hook-tests` installs `jq` via `apt-get`. - `mcp-conformance` installs `nodejs` + `npm` via `apt-get`. - trixie also ships `gcc`, which `go test -race` requires.

hexajon commented

2026-07-14 21:33:14 +00:00

(Migrated from codeberg.org)

Already resolved on main before this branch started: PR #27 (commit 36efc3a7, "fix(ci): run jobs on Debian glibc image so JS actions get a working node") made exactly this change. Verified against main at df485cee by an independent build+review pass: all 14 ci.yml jobs and drift.yml's surface-diff run on docker.io/golang:1.26-trixie (glibc, pinned by digest); no apk steps remain (jq via apt-get in hook-tests, nodejs+npm via apt-get in mcp-conformance; trixie ships bash/python3/gcc so the gosec and third-party-licenses install steps are gone); forgejo-smoke untouched; both YAML files parse; Go stays 1.26; full gate green. The dev branch for this issue had zero delta vs main, so there is nothing to merge.

Already resolved on main before this branch started: PR #27 (commit 36efc3a7, "fix(ci): run jobs on Debian glibc image so JS actions get a working node") made exactly this change. Verified against main at df485cee by an independent build+review pass: all 14 ci.yml jobs and drift.yml's surface-diff run on docker.io/golang:1.26-trixie (glibc, pinned by digest); no apk steps remain (jq via apt-get in hook-tests, nodejs+npm via apt-get in mcp-conformance; trixie ships bash/python3/gcc so the gosec and third-party-licenses install steps are gone); forgejo-smoke untouched; both YAML files parse; Go stays 1.26; full gate green. The dev branch for this issue had zero delta vs main, so there is nothing to merge.

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Reference

sixfold-space/madtea#28

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