How to fix npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE npm ERR! errno 143 npm ERR! Exit status 143 in npm | DevErrors

How to fix "npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE npm ERR! errno 143 npm ERR! Exit status 143"

1Run Node.js directly instead of through npm

The root cause is npm not forwarding signals properly. In production:

dockerfile

# Instead of:
CMD ["npm", "start"]

# Use:
CMD ["node", "server.js"]

This makes Node.js the top-level process, allowing it to handle SIGTERM directly.

2Add signal handlers to your app

Handle SIGTERM at the very top of your entry file:

javascript

process.on('SIGTERM', () => {
  console.log('SIGTERM received, shutting down gracefully');
  // Close database connections, finish requests, etc.
  server.close(() => {
    process.exit(0);
  });
});

Place this before any blocking operations.

3Use a process manager for production

npm is not designed for production process management. Use:

bash

# PM2
pm2 start server.js

# Or run directly
node server.js

Process managers handle signals properly and provide restart capabilities.

4Increase Kubernetes grace period if needed

Kubernetes sends SIGTERM, then waits (default 30s) before SIGKILL:

yaml

spec:
  terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 60

Ensure your app can shut down within this window.

5Check Docker stop timeout

Docker's default stop timeout is 10 seconds:

bash

# Increase timeout
docker stop --time=30 container_name

Or in docker-compose.yml:

yaml

services:
  app:
    stop_grace_period: 30s

Advanced notes

Signal exit codes:
- 130 (128+2): SIGINT (Ctrl+C)
- 137 (128+9): SIGKILL (forced termination, no grace period)
- 143 (128+15): SIGTERM (graceful termination request)

If you see 137 instead of 143, your process didn't shut down in time and was forcefully killed.

For Node.js apps, a proper graceful shutdown includes:

javascript

const server = app.listen(3000);

process.on('SIGTERM', () => {
  console.log('SIGTERM received');

  server.close(() => {
    console.log('HTTP server closed');
    // Close database connections
    db.close(() => {
      console.log('Database connection closed');
      process.exit(0);
    });
  });

  // Force close after 30s
  setTimeout(() => {
    console.error('Forced shutdown');
    process.exit(1);
  }, 30000);
});

How to fix npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE npm ERR! errno 143 npm ERR! Exit status 143 in npm

What this error means

Typical symptoms

Common causes

How to fix "npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE npm ERR! errno 143 npm ERR! Exit status 143"

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