The EEXIST error occurs when npm tries to create a file or directory that already exists. This often indicates a corrupted state that can be resolved by clearing the affected files.
EEXIST is a filesystem error indicating npm tried to create something that already exists. This can happen during installation when there are leftover files from previous failed operations, permission issues, or race conditions with concurrent operations. This differs from package conflict errors - EEXIST is specifically about filesystem operations failing due to existing files.
Clean install:
rm -rf node_modules
rm package-lock.json
npm installReset npm cache:
npm cache clean --force
npm installEnsure no other npm is running:
ps aux | grep npm
# Kill if found
kill <pid>Delete the conflicting file:
# Error shows: EEXIST /path/to/file
rm -rf /path/to/file
npm installIn CI/CD, always start with clean node_modules or use npm ci which clears it automatically. Don't run multiple npm installs in parallel on the same directory. File locking issues can occur on Windows with antivirus scanning node_modules. For persistent issues, check filesystem health (fsck on Linux).
npm ERR! code ENOAUDIT npm ERR! Audit endpoint not supported
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npm ERR! code EBADDEVENGINES npm ERR! devEngines.runtime incompatible with current node version
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npm ERR! code ETOOMANYARGS npm ERR! Too many arguments
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For global package EEXIST:
# Find global packages location
npm config get prefix
# List and clean
npm ls -g --depth=0
npm uninstall -g problematic-package
npm install -g problematic-packageResolve symlink problems:
# Find broken symlinks in node_modules
find node_modules -type l ! -exec test -e {} \; -print
# Remove them
find node_modules -type l ! -exec test -e {} \; -delete