installation fails with newer node because of `isolated-vm`

[kallyaleksiev]

Describe the bug

webcrack depends on isolated-vm 5.*, which fails on Node 24 because it cannot compile against V8 in Node 24 (or ≥23) and fails on Node 22 when a pre-built binary is unavailable

ref: https://github.com/laverdet/isolated-vm/releases/tag/v6.0.0

Expected Behaviour

success of install

Code

`npm i -g webcrack`

Logs

error: "C++20 or later required."
543 error       1313 |  | ##eerrrroorr  ""CC++++2200  oorr  llaatteerr  rreeqquuiirreedd.."
...
543 error gyp ERR! build error 
543 error gyp ERR! stack Error: `make` failed with exit code: 2
543 error gyp ERR! stack at ChildProcess.<anonymous> (/.../.nvm/versions/node/v24.3.0/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/node-gyp/lib/build.js:219:23)
543 error gyp ERR! System Darwin 24.5.0
543 error gyp ERR! command "/....nvm/versions/node/v24.3.0/bin/node" "/.../.nvm/versions/node/v24.3.0/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/node-gyp/bin/node-gyp.js" "rebuild" "--release" "-j" "max"
543 error gyp ERR! cwd /.../.nvm/versions/node/v24.3.0/lib/node_modules/webcrack/node_modules/isolated-vm
543 error gyp ERR! node -v v24.3.0
543 error gyp ERR! node-gyp -v v11.2.0
543 error gyp ERR! not ok

[duck-master]

I also ran into this when trying to install webcrack on node v24. It worked when I went to nvm install 22 though.

Here are the logs I got (but with my home path replaced with ~ to redact my current username):

webcrack_errors.txt

[0xdevalias]

Older context from the linked PR for easier reference:

Thanks for the PR

This breaks compatibility with node 18.x and 20.x unfortunately (majority of users), I can merge after laverdet/isolated-vm#532 and/or laverdet/isolated-vm#534 is resolved

Originally posted by @j4k0xb in #184 (comment)

for this repo there seems to be no other choice than to update to isolated-vm v6 and release a new major version (breaking change)

Originally posted by @j4k0xb in #184 (comment)

The bump to isolated-vm 6.0.1 happened in bc8093f#diff-6e37dfd3b764e37aacd3f72278773948d6737cb78f50514ebf89c96c40e036e9R70

webcrack/packages/webcrack/package.json

Line 70 in 32cbd06

"isolated-vm": "^6.0.1"

---

I also ran into this when trying to install webcrack on node v24. It worked when I went to nvm install 22 though.

Here are the logs I got

From those logs:

npm error prebuild-install warn install No prebuilt binaries found (target=24.3.0 runtime=node arch=arm64 libc= platform=darwin)

@duck-master I haven't deeply looked into or verified this, but in passing those logs to ChatGPT (gpt-5), it gave a fairly plausible sounding reason (based on my knowledge of this issue), and some suggested steps that might allow it to be worked around (which I haven't personally verified, so take it with a grain of salt)

ChatGPT (gpt-5) Response

The main errors in your log come from building the isolated-vm native module during the installation of webcrack, and they happen because your compiler setup doesn’t support C++20, even though Node.js 24.x now requires it for native addons.

Let’s unpack that clearly:

---

🔍 Root Cause Summary

• The line

  error: "C++20 or later required."
  

  is the key.
  It’s coming from V8 (the JavaScript engine inside Node.js 24), which now uses C++20 features like concept, requires, and std::ranges.

• Your system’s C++ compiler (from Xcode Command Line Tools) defaults to C++17 or earlier, so it doesn’t understand those keywords:

  error: unknown type name 'concept'
  error: unknown type name 'requires'
  error: no member named 'ranges' in namespace 'std'
  

  → These are all C++20 constructs.

• The chain of events:

  npm install -g webcrack
    ↳ installs isolated-vm
      ↳ no prebuilt binary for Node 24 on macOS ARM64
        ↳ triggers node-gyp rebuild
          ↳ fails because compiler doesn’t use C++20
  

---

🧠 Why It’s Happening

• Node 24.x ships with a V8 version that requires C++20 or later for all native addons.
• The isolated-vm package hasn’t yet updated its build configuration to explicitly use -std=c++20 or provide prebuilt binaries for Node 24.
• macOS’s CommandLineTools defaults to -std=c++17 (or earlier), so the build breaks when trying to compile Node’s V8 headers.

---

🧩 How to Fix It

Option 1: Use a Node version with prebuilt support (easiest)

Downgrade Node.js to v22.x or v20.x, which still have compatible prebuilt binaries for isolated-vm.

nvm install 22
nvm use 22
npm install -g webcrack

✅ Works because isolated-vm has prebuilt binaries for Node 22 and older.

---

Option 2: Force C++20 build (advanced)

If you must stay on Node 24, recompile with explicit C++20 flags:

export CXXFLAGS="-std=c++20"
npm install -g webcrack --build-from-source

However, this may still fail if the code itself isn’t C++20-ready or if macOS’s toolchain doesn’t fully support it. You might need a newer Xcode:

xcode-select --install
sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer

---

Option 3: Patch or fork [isolated-vm](https://github.com/laverdet/isolated-vm)

If you’re maintaining a project and need to fix it upstream:

1. Fork isolated-vm.

2. Edit its binding.gyp:

   "cflags_cc": ["-std=c++20"]

3. Build and publish a patched version compatible with Node 24.

---

⚙️ Quick Diagnosis Commands

To confirm your current environment:

node -v
clang++ --version
xcode-select -p

To check compiler C++ standard support:

echo | clang++ -std=c++20 -dM -E - | grep __cplusplus

If that fails, your compiler’s too old.

---

✅ Recommended Fix for Now

nvm install 22
nvm use 22
npm install -g webcrack

This avoids the need to recompile native code and ensures full compatibility.

---

Edit: Though looking further at this issue:

• Missing prebuilts ? laverdet/isolated-vm#532

It suggests that v137 is node 24 (which we can also confirm here), and looking at the 6.0.1 release assets it contains a number of built executables for that version:

• https://github.com/laverdet/isolated-vm/releases/tag/v6.0.1
  • isolated-vm-v6.0.1-node-v137-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
  • isolated-vm-v6.0.1-node-v137-linux-arm64.tar.gz
  • isolated-vm-v6.0.1-node-v137-linux-x64.tar.gz
  • isolated-vm-v6.0.1-node-v137-linuxmusl-arm64.tar.gz
  • isolated-vm-v6.0.1-node-v137-linuxmusl-x64.tar.gz
  • isolated-vm-v6.0.1-node-v137-win32-x64.tar.gz

There was also this older issue about being unable to install on node 24 on windows, but 6.0.1 should have resolved that as well apparently:

• Unable to install on Windows with Node 24 laverdet/isolated-vm#533

ChatGPT (gpt-5) Suggestions

Good catch — you’re right that isolated-vm added support for Node 24 (V8 version “v137”) in version 6.0.1. (GitHub)

That means two possibilities:

1. webcrack is not actually pulling in isolated-vm@6.0.1 (or later) in your environment, but something older—hence the build is hitting the error.
2. Even though 6.0.1 supports v137, your build environment or toolchain is not set up properly to compile the module (or use the binary) in your specific setup (macOS ARM64 + Xcode / toolchain etc).

Let me go through how that mismatch can happen, and how to diagnose/fix it:

---

📦 Mismatch versions / dependency resolution issue

Even if upstream isolated-vm supports Node 24, the actual version used in your install might be older. Possible causes:

• Lockfile / package-lock.json / npm-shrinkwrap.json pins a lower version of isolated-vm.
• webcrack’s package.json might be specifying a version range that still allows older isolated-vm versions.
• A transitive dependency might force an older isolated-vm (or override) in your dependency tree.
• The global install (npm install -g webcrack) might be using a cached or previously compiled version.

So the first check is: when you run the installation, what version of isolated-vm is being built or installed? That will confirm if it's really using 6.0.1 or not.

You can check:

# after installation failure, inspect logs: often “installing isolated-vm@X.Y.Z”
# or
npm ls isolated-vm

If it is something < 6.0.1, then that’s the root cause: it’s not picking up the version that supports Node 24.

---

🛠 Even with 6.0.1, environment issues can break build

Assuming your install is bringing in 6.0.1, you can end up with the same compiler errors if:

• Your C++ toolchain is too old / lacks full C++20 support.
• The build flags aren’t set to enable C++20 (-std=c++20).
• The prebuilt binary for Node 24 / macOS ARM64 is not available (or not being used), forcing a rebuild.
• The environment misdetects the target or version, so the build script compiles for an older ABI or standard.

So it's possible that isolated-vm@6.0.1 is being used, but the build is still failing on your system because the environment isn’t aligned with what’s required.

---

✅ How to resolve / verify

Here’s a step-by-step approach to root it out and fix it:

1. Confirm version of isolated-vm
   Run:

   npm ls isolated-vm

   or inspect logs during npm install to see which version is being used.

2. Force use of 6.0.1 (or newer) if it’s not being used
   If webcrack allows, you can override or upgrade the dependency. For example, in your project:

   npm install isolated-vm@6.0.1
   npm install webcrack

   Or use npm override or resolutions (if using Yarn) to force that version.

3. Ensure your compiler supports C++20

   • Make sure you have a recent Xcode / Command Line Tools installed (so clang++ supports -std=c++20).

   • Test:

     echo | clang++ -std=c++20 -dM -E - | grep __cplusplus

   • If that fails, upgrade Xcode or install a newer toolchain.

4. Force build from source with correct flags (if prebuilt binary not present or being used)
   Set environment variables so that the build scripts pass -std=c++20:

   export CXXFLAGS="-std=c++20"
   npm install --build-from-source

5. Clear caches / rebuild
   Sometimes old build artifacts or cached prebuilt binaries cause conflicts. You may need to:

   npm cache clean --force
   # Remove node_modules, etc.
   npm install

6. Inspect the isolated-vm release assets / prebuilt binaries
   Check whether there is a prebuilt binary supplied for macOS ARM64 + Node 24 in the isolated-vm@6.0.1 release. If not, builds will always fall back to building from source, which brings in the compiler constraints.

7. Check binding.gyp / build scripts in isolated-vm
   In the isolated-vm source (v6.0.1), the build configuration should include logic to compile with -std=c++20 when necessary. If it doesn't, you might need to patch it (locally or upstream) to ensure support for C++20.

There might also be some useful insights/snippets in this older deepdive I did related to a similar issue:

• docs: create detailed windows installation guide jehna/humanify#533 (comment)

[0xdevalias]

See also:

• Global install fails on Node.js 22 / 24 due to isolated-vm native build error on macOS (arm64) #202

[j4k0xb]

Fixed in release 2.16.0.