[brennanb2025]

Problem

On SSH/relay hosts, system /usr/bin/node could be selected without an accompanying npm, so the relay's npm install silently skipped the node-pty native build (lifecycle scripts blocked under nvm-managed npm) — leaving terminals broken on the remote. (Reported in #8450; the closely-related #8720 was already resolved on main via #8686.)

Fix

Adds a Node/npm toolchain probe (ssh-remote-node-toolchain-probe.ts) and requires a coherent colocated Node+npm toolchain, skipping incomplete system-Node candidates on both POSIX and Windows so a usable toolchain is chosen.

Validation

104 focused SSH tests pass (5 skipped), typecheck + targeted lint/format clean, regression-proof (tests fail with the fix reverted).

Fixes #8450

Manual validation

• Built the relay, launched the exact PR worktree in an isolated Electron profile, and verified app identity as brennanb2025/bug-8720-triage.
• Reproduced [Bug]: SSH relay selects system Node without npm instead of complete NVM toolchain #8450 on a throwaway Ubuntu 24.04 arm64 SSH container: non-interactive SSH exposed /usr/bin/node v18.19.1 with no npm, while an NVM install below the standard .bashrc non-interactive guard provided Node v22.23.1 + npm 10.9.8.
• Orca skipped the incomplete system candidate, logged Found node via path probe: /root/.nvm/versions/node/v22.23.1/bin/node, installed native dependencies, and started the relay.
• Through the rendered Electron terminal and real keyboard input, the remote PTY reported the NVM Node/npm pair and changed the bundled demo-project; backing SSH checks confirmed the proof file, Git status, the relay daemon running under the NVM Node, and successful require("node-pty") + require("@parcel/watcher").
• Sanity-checked a normal node:22-bookworm host: Orca retained /usr/local/bin/node + /usr/local/bin/npm, native dependencies loaded, and a real remote-terminal repository action succeeded.
• Both live connection calls completed within 6 seconds on this machine. The resolver still uses one combined SSH exec per candidate and adds no polling, caching, or terminal hot-path work; Electron reported zero console errors.
• Cleanup covered both remote proof files/repos, relay/container state, the isolated Electron profile, and temporary keys/images.

Reliability invariant: an SSH relay bootstrap must reject a Node candidate without a colocated runnable npm, then preserve a native-backed remote PTY that accepts input and renders output. The oracle was visible terminal output plus remote process, file, Git, and native-module checks; this live test-orca-ssh evidence covers a macOS client against Linux arm64, while Linux/Windows desktop clients, WSL, and a Windows SSH target remain unexercised live (focused automated PowerShell coverage remains in the PR).

Evidence

Broken-system-Node host: the same terminal shows the original non-interactive /usr/bin/node + missing npm state, followed by Orca's selected NVM Node/npm pair and a successful remote repo action.

Normal host: the relay retains the standard colocated /usr/local/bin/node + npm toolchain and the remote repo action succeeds.

[coderabbitai]

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Remote Node resolution now validates both Node and npm versions for POSIX and Windows candidates. New probe builders configure the appropriate PATH, execute Node and npm version commands, and parse marker-based output with legacy Node-only compatibility. Resolver tests cover rejection of an incomplete system Node installation and selection of a complete NVM toolchain.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Description check	⚠️ Warning	The description lacks required template sections like Screenshots, AI Review Report, Security Audit, and Notes.	Add the missing template sections and the required testing checklist details, plus a review summary and security/platform notes.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The change matches #8450 by requiring a complete Node/npm pair and skipping incomplete system Node candidates until a usable toolchain is found.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	The changes stay focused on SSH Node/npm toolchain detection and tests, with no unrelated functionality added.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly describes the main SSH relay change: requiring a complete Node/npm toolchain.

✨ Finishing Touches

📝 Generate docstrings

• Create stacked PR
• Commit on current branch

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