`Unable to find Node version 'lts'`

[tmillr]

Description:

The docs say:

    # Version Spec of the version to use in SemVer notation.
    # It also emits such aliases as lts, latest, nightly and canary builds
    # Examples: 12.x, 10.15.1, >=10.15.0, lts/Hydrogen, 16-nightly, latest, node
    node-version: ''

...but when you set node-version to lts, the action fails with Error: Unable to find Node version 'lts' for platform linux and architecture x64.

---

Action version:

actions/setup-node@v3

Platform:

• Ubuntu
• macOS
• Windows

Runner type:

• Hosted
• Self-hosted

Tools version:

Repro steps:

https://github.com/projekt0n/github-nvim-theme/blob/20a949da713b58f28ba6af153a7d1691933ac942/.github/workflows/update-colors.yml

Expected behavior:

Download/use the current lts version of node.

Actual behavior:

See above

---

Is this a bug? Is there an alternative way to achieve specifying the current lts (such that it will dynamically track/obtain whatever the current lts version is at runtime)?

Maybe my memory is simply failing me, but I could have sworn this used to work.

Thank you

[tmillr]

Oh, I apologize, it seems the issue is that lts is an invalid alias (it's supposed to be lts/*). Maybe this could be added to the README? E.g. something like:

 - uses: actions/setup-node@v3
   with:
     # Version Spec of the version to use in SemVer notation.
-    # It also emits such aliases as lts, latest, nightly and canary builds
-    # Examples: 12.x, 10.15.1, >=10.15.0, lts/Hydrogen, 16-nightly, latest, node
+    # lts, latest, nightly and canary build aliases are allowed.
+    # Examples: 12.x, 10.15.1, >=10.15.0, lts/Hydrogen, lts/*, 16-nightly, latest, node
     node-version: ''

[dusan-trickovic]

Hello, @tmillr ! Thank you for creating the issue! We will take a look at it and see what can be done :)

[dusan-trickovic]

Hello again, @tmillr ! I would like to tell you that the suggestion you made with your last comment in regards to editing the README, although good, we think would be somewhat unnecessary, as there is already something along those lines explained in this section - specifically, the NVM LTS syntax: section.

We hope this answered your question. I will close this issue now, but in case you have encountered any additional obstacle while using our software that you would like us to investigate, please feel free to create a new issue at any time :)

Thank you for your input and cooperation!

[tmillr]

Hello again, @tmillr ! I would like to tell you that the suggestion you made with your last comment in regards to editing the README, although good, we think would be somewhat unnecessary, as there is already something along those lines explained in this section - specifically, the NVM LTS syntax: section.

We hope this answered your question. I will close this issue now, but in case you have encountered any additional obstacle while using our software that you would like us to investigate, please feel free to create a new issue at any time :)

Thank you for your input and cooperation!

Thank you, but I disagree. Let me explain.

1. I'm not the only one having the same issue. Just since opening this, at least one other person has stumbled upon this footgun.
2. It's a 5 min or less fix (unless there's a build process or something that I am not aware of).

Yes, technically it is documented clearly (further down the README), but in-practice, developers who have used this action before in the past are not going to read much of the README if at all (rather they are probably going to be relying on either: their memory, the yaml, or just the very top of the README which displays the yaml). The wording in the yaml is confusing: It also emits such aliases as lts? Does that not sound like it is saying that lts is a valid alias?

But that's all I am going to say about. You guys can choose to improve it or not, but I do acknowledge that it is a small issue and not a major one.

Thank you for the swift and friendly support.

[T3rm1]

The readme is just wrong. It says you can use lts. But you can't. So fix this. It doesn't matter if there are examples somewhere further down that add an explanation how to actually use it correctly.

[wozzo]

@dusan-trickovic It seems several people are hitting this, and since there's a PR to add a clarifying note what's the harm in updating it so that others don't have to go through the pain of searching through issues/docs etc?

[BenjaminNolan]

+1 for clarifying the README comment, as it currently still reads as if node-version: lts is intended to be used the same as latest and nightly, when it is not.

[zeeshanpolaris]

I just ran in to this issue and I suggest updating README asap.

[boxdox]

Any updates on this? It still fails:

- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: lts/*
          cache: 'pnpm'

Error:

Attempting to download lts...
Not found in manifest. Falling back to download directly from Node
Error: Unable to find Node version 'lts' for platform linux and architecture x64.

Edit: looks like I was missing quotes around node-version value. "lts/*" fixed this