nodejs/electron-forge/node-gyp: Could not find any Visual Studio installation to use after trying all the tips I could find online

Question

Introduction

After consulting millions of tips online including

• How can I solve error gypgyp ERR!ERR! find VSfind VS msvs_version not set from command line or npm config?
• https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp/issues/1663
• Not looking for VS2013 npm install node modules
• Unable to install npm package (kafka-streams)

and this "comprehensive guide" that introduces ideas that go against the official doc

I still couldn't install certain third-party packages that require local build over npm or yarn. I've also not received any reply from nodejs or node-gyp github issue forums.

I'm about to ship an app that already builds well using electron-forge on macOS, but can't get it working on Windows.

The main problem is that one of the npm dependencies for building third-party packages,node-gyp, couldn't find Visual Studio on my machine. I use VS2017 Community and have installed all required components for node-gyp.

My Setup

• Node Version: node -v=v12.18.3 and npm -v=6.14.8
• Platform: systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version" /C:"System Type" (Windows)

OS Name:                   Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
OS Version:                10.0.18362 N/A Build 18362
System Type:               x64-based PC

• Compiler: msbuild /version & cl (Windows)

Microsoft (R) Build Engine version 15.9.21+g9802d43bc3 for .NET Framework
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

15.9.21.664Microsoft (R) C/C++ Optimizing Compiler Version 19.16.27043 for x64
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

usage: cl [ option... ] filename... [ /link linkoption... ]

• Module: zeromq

Verbose output (from npm or node-gyp):

me@me-PC0 D:\Desktop\myapp
# node-gyp configure --msvs_version=2017
gyp info it worked if it ends with ok
gyp info using node-gyp@7.1.0
gyp info using node@12.18.3 | win32 | x64
gyp info find Python using Python version 3.8.5 found at "C:\Python\Python38\python.exe"
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS msvs_version was set from command line or npm config
gyp ERR! find VS - looking for Visual Studio version 2017
gyp ERR! find VS running in VS Command Prompt, installation path is:
gyp ERR! find VS "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017"
gyp ERR! find VS - will only use this version
gyp ERR! find VS could not use PowerShell to find Visual Studio 2017 or newer
gyp ERR! find VS looking for Visual Studio 2015
gyp ERR! find VS - found in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0"
gyp ERR! find VS - could not find MSBuild in registry for this version
gyp ERR! find VS not looking for VS2013 as it is only supported up to Node.js 8
gyp ERR! find VS msvs_version does not match this VS Command Prompt or the
gyp ERR! find VS installation cannot be used.
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS **************************************************************
gyp ERR! find VS You need to install the latest version of Visual Studio
gyp ERR! find VS including the "Desktop development with C++" workload.
gyp ERR! find VS For more information consult the documentation at:
gyp ERR! find VS https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp#on-windows
gyp ERR! find VS **************************************************************
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! configure error
gyp ERR! stack Error: Could not find any Visual Studio installation to use
gyp ERR! stack     at VisualStudioFinder.fail (C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:121:47)
gyp ERR! stack     at C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:74:16
gyp ERR! stack     at VisualStudioFinder.findVisualStudio2013 (C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:351:14)
gyp ERR! stack     at C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:70:14
gyp ERR! stack     at C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:384:20
gyp ERR! stack     at C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\util.js:54:7
gyp ERR! stack     at C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\util.js:33:16
gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:310:5)
gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:315:20)
gyp ERR! stack     at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)
gyp ERR! System Windows_NT 10.0.18362
gyp ERR! command "C:\\Apps\\nodejs\\node.exe" "C:\\Users\\me\\AppData\\Roaming\\npm\\node_modules\\node-gyp\\bin\\node-gyp.js" "configure" "--msvs_version=2017"
gyp ERR! cwd D:\Desktop\myapp
gyp ERR! node -v v12.18.3
gyp ERR! node-gyp -v v7.1.0
gyp ERR! not ok

Things I've tried to no avail

• Reinstall VS 2017 with Desktop Development Kit for C++
• Reinstall node and npm
• Run the same command in Admin CMD, Admin PowerShell, Admin VC2017 Dev Command Prompt
• Manually set VCINSTALLDIR environment variable to: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\
• Run npm config set msvs_version 2017 --global, then npm config get msvs_version gives me 2017
• Restart PC every step of the way

I got the same errors as above every step of the way.

Further attempts

I've nuked my entire nodejs installation and started over, but the problem persists. What I've done

• Removed nodejs based on this StackOverflow answer.
• Reinstalled nodejs x64 for Windows v12.18.3 using the .msi installer from official nodejs site, allowing the installer to install extra dependencies such as chocolatey
• Created a blank electron app using electron-forge: like this

me@me-PC0 D:\Desktop
$ npx create-electron-app myapp
√ Initializing Project Directory
√ Initializing Git Repository
√ Locating custom template: "base"
√ Copying Starter Files
√ Initializing NPM Module
√ Installing Template Dependencies
√ Installing NPM Dependencies

me@me-PC0 D:\Desktop
$ cd myapp

me@me-PC0 D:\Desktop\myapp
$ npm start

> myapp@1.0.0 start D:\Desktop\myapp
> electron-forge start

√ Checking your system
√ Locating Application
√ Preparing native dependencies
√ Launching Application

• Configured VS version that npm uses: npm config set msvs_version 2017 and npm config set msvs_version 2017 --global

The app runs up until this point. Then ...

• Installed dependency zeromq

$ npm install zeromq --save-prod
npm WARN deprecated request@2.88.2: request has been deprecated, see https://github.com/request/request/issues/3142
npm WARN deprecated har-validator@5.1.5: this library is no longer supported
npm WARN rm not removing D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\.bin\extract-zip.cmd as it wasn't installed by D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\extract-zip
npm WARN rm not removing D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\.bin\extract-zip as it wasn't installed by D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\extract-zip
npm WARN rm not removing D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\.bin\rimraf.cmd as it wasn't installed by D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\rimraf
npm WARN rm not removing D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\.bin\rimraf as it wasn't installed by D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\rimraf
npm WARN rm not removing D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\.bin\semver.cmd as it wasn't installed by D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\semver
npm WARN rm not removing D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\.bin\semver as it wasn't installed by D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\semver

> zeromq@6.0.0-beta.6 install D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\zeromq
> node-gyp-build


> core-js@3.6.5 postinstall D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\core-js
> node -e "try{require('./postinstall')}catch(e){}"

Thank you for using core-js ( https://github.com/zloirock/core-js ) for polyfilling JavaScript standard library!

The project needs your help! Please consider supporting of core-js on Open Collective or Patreon:
> https://opencollective.com/core-js
> https://www.patreon.com/zloirock

Also, the author of core-js ( https://github.com/zloirock ) is looking for a good job -)

npm notice created a lockfile as package-lock.json. You should commit this file.
npm WARN optional SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: electron-installer-debian@^3.0.0 (node_modules\@electron-forge\maker-deb\node_modules\electron-installer-debian):
npm WARN notsup SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: Unsupported platform for electron-installer-debian@3.1.0: wanted {"os":"darwin,linux","arch":"any"} (current: {"os":"win32","arch":"x64"})
npm WARN optional SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: electron-installer-redhat@^3.2.0 (node_modules\@electron-forge\maker-rpm\node_modules\electron-installer-redhat):
npm WARN notsup SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: Unsupported platform for electron-installer-redhat@3.2.0: wanted {"os":"darwin,linux","arch":"any"} (current: {"os":"win32","arch":"x64"})
npm WARN myapp@1.0.0 No repository field.

+ zeromq@6.0.0-beta.6
added 50 packages from 7 contributors, removed 32 packages, updated 401 packages and audited 460 packages in 61.306s

32 packages are looking for funding
  run `npm fund` for details

found 0 vulnerabilities

• Run electron-forge to build the Windows distribution.

$ npm run make

> myapp@1.0.0 make D:\Desktop\myapp
> electron-forge make

√ Checking your system
√ Resolving Forge Config
We need to package your application before we can make it
√ Preparing to Package Application for arch: x64
× Preparing native dependencies: 0 / 1

An unhandled error has occurred inside Forge:
Command failed with a non-zero return code (1):
D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\electron-rebuild\node_modules\.bin\node-gyp.cmd rebuild --target=10.1.0 --arch=x64 --dist-url=https://www.electronjs.org/headers --build-from-source

gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS msvs_version was set from command line or npm config
gyp ERR! find VS - looking for Visual Studio version 2017
gyp ERR! find VS VCINSTALLDIR not set, not running in VS Command Prompt
gyp ERR! find VS could not use PowerShell to find Visual Studio 2017 or newer
gyp ERR! find VS looking for Visual Studio 2015
gyp ERR! find VS - found in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0"
gyp ERR! find VS - could not find MSBuild in registry for this version
gyp ERR! find VS not looking for VS2013 as it is only supported up to Node.js 8
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS valid versions for msvs_version:
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS **************************************************************
gyp ERR! find VS You need to install the latest version of Visual Studio
gyp ERR! find VS including the "Desktop development with C++" workload.
gyp ERR! find VS For more information consult the documentation at:
gyp ERR! find VS https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp#on-windows
gyp ERR! find VS **************************************************************
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! configure error
gyp ERR! stack Error: Could not find any Visual Studio installation to use
gyp ERR! stack     at VisualStudioFinder.fail (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:121:47)
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:74:16
gyp ERR! stack     at VisualStudioFinder.findVisualStudio2013 (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:351:14)
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:70:14
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:384:20
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\util.js:54:7
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\util.js:33:16
gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:310:5)
gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:315:20)
gyp ERR! stack     at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)
gyp ERR! System Windows_NT 10.0.18362
gyp ERR! command "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe" "D:\\Desktop\\myapp\\node_modules\\node-gyp\\bin\\node-gyp.js" "rebuild" "--target=10.1.0" "--arch=x64" "--dist-url=https://www.electronjs.org/headers" "--build-from-source"
gyp ERR! cwd C:\Users\me\AppData\Local\Temp\electron-packager\win32-x64\myapp-win32-x64\resources\app\node_modules\zeromq
gyp ERR! node -v v12.18.3
gyp ERR! node-gyp -v v7.1.0
gyp ERR! not ok
Error: Command failed with a non-zero return code (1):
D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\electron-rebuild\node_modules\.bin\node-gyp.cmd rebuild --target=10.1.0 --arch=x64 --dist-url=https://www.electronjs.org/headers --build-from-source

gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS msvs_version was set from command line or npm config
gyp ERR! find VS - looking for Visual Studio version 2017
gyp ERR! find VS VCINSTALLDIR not set, not running in VS Command Prompt
gyp ERR! find VS could not use PowerShell to find Visual Studio 2017 or newer
gyp ERR! find VS looking for Visual Studio 2015
gyp ERR! find VS - found in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0"
gyp ERR! find VS - could not find MSBuild in registry for this version
gyp ERR! find VS not looking for VS2013 as it is only supported up to Node.js 8
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS valid versions for msvs_version:
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS **************************************************************
gyp ERR! find VS You need to install the latest version of Visual Studio
gyp ERR! find VS including the "Desktop development with C++" workload.
gyp ERR! find VS For more information consult the documentation at:
gyp ERR! find VS https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp#on-windows
gyp ERR! find VS **************************************************************
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! configure error
gyp ERR! stack Error: Could not find any Visual Studio installation to use
gyp ERR! stack     at VisualStudioFinder.fail (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:121:47)
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:74:16
gyp ERR! stack     at VisualStudioFinder.findVisualStudio2013 (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:351:14)
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:70:14
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:384:20
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\util.js:54:7
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\util.js:33:16
gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:310:5)
gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:315:20)
gyp ERR! stack     at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)
gyp ERR! System Windows_NT 10.0.18362
gyp ERR! command "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe" "D:\\Desktop\\myapp\\node_modules\\node-gyp\\bin\\node-gyp.js" "rebuild" "--target=10.1.0" "--arch=x64" "--dist-url=https://www.electronjs.org/headers" "--build-from-source"
gyp ERR! cwd C:\Users\me\AppData\Local\Temp\electron-packager\win32-x64\myapp-win32-x64\resources\app\node_modules\zeromq
gyp ERR! node -v v12.18.3
gyp ERR! node-gyp -v v7.1.0
gyp ERR! not ok
    at ChildProcess.<anonymous> (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\@malept\cross-spawn-promise\src\index.ts:155:16)
    at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:315:20)
    at ChildProcess.EventEmitter.emit (domain.js:483:12)
    at ChildProcess.cp.emit (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\cross-spawn\lib\enoent.js:34:29)
    at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)
    at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:286:5)
npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE
npm ERR! errno 1
npm ERR! myapp@1.0.0 make: `electron-forge make`
npm ERR! Exit status 1
npm ERR!
npm ERR! Failed at the myapp@1.0.0 make script.
npm ERR! This is probably not a problem with npm. There is likely additional logging output above.

npm ERR! A complete log of this run can be found in:
npm ERR!     C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\npm-cache\_logs\2020-08-28T04_35_43_345Z-debug.log

• Attempted to fix this by setting VCINSTALLDIR environment variable manually

set VCINSTALLDIR=C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\

• Then run electron-forge again

D:\Desktop\myapp>npm run make

> myapp@1.0.0 make D:\Desktop\myapp
> electron-forge make

√ Checking your system
√ Resolving Forge Config
We need to package your application before we can make it
√ Preparing to Package Application for arch: x64
× Preparing native dependencies: 0 / 1

An unhandled error has occurred inside Forge:
Command failed with a non-zero return code (1):
D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\electron-rebuild\node_modules\.bin\node-gyp.cmd rebuild --target=10.1.0 --arch=x64 --dist-url=https://www.electronjs.org/headers --build-from-source

gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS msvs_version was set from command line or npm config
gyp ERR! find VS - looking for Visual Studio version 2017
gyp ERR! find VS running in VS Command Prompt, installation path is:
gyp ERR! find VS "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017"
gyp ERR! find VS - will only use this version
gyp ERR! find VS could not use PowerShell to find Visual Studio 2017 or newer
gyp ERR! find VS looking for Visual Studio 2015
gyp ERR! find VS - found in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0"
gyp ERR! find VS - could not find MSBuild in registry for this version
gyp ERR! find VS not looking for VS2013 as it is only supported up to Node.js 8
gyp ERR! find VS msvs_version does not match this VS Command Prompt or the
gyp ERR! find VS installation cannot be used.
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS **************************************************************
gyp ERR! find VS You need to install the latest version of Visual Studio
gyp ERR! find VS including the "Desktop development with C++" workload.
gyp ERR! find VS For more information consult the documentation at:
gyp ERR! find VS https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp#on-windows
gyp ERR! find VS **************************************************************
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! configure error
gyp ERR! stack Error: Could not find any Visual Studio installation to use
gyp ERR! stack     at VisualStudioFinder.fail (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:121:47)
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:74:16
gyp ERR! stack     at VisualStudioFinder.findVisualStudio2013 (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:351:14)
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:70:14
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:384:20
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\util.js:54:7
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\util.js:33:16
gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:310:5)
gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:315:20)
gyp ERR! stack     at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)
gyp ERR! System Windows_NT 10.0.18362
gyp ERR! command "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe" "D:\\Desktop\\myapp\\node_modules\\node-gyp\\bin\\node-gyp.js" "rebuild" "--target=10.1.0" "--arch=x64" "--dist-url=https://www.electronjs.org/headers" "--build-from-source"
gyp ERR! cwd C:\Users\me\AppData\Local\Temp\electron-packager\win32-x64\myapp-win32-x64\resources\app\node_modules\zeromq
gyp ERR! node -v v12.18.3
gyp ERR! node-gyp -v v7.1.0
gyp ERR! not ok
Error: Command failed with a non-zero return code (1):
D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\electron-rebuild\node_modules\.bin\node-gyp.cmd rebuild --target=10.1.0 --arch=x64 --dist-url=https://www.electronjs.org/headers --build-from-source

gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS msvs_version was set from command line or npm config
gyp ERR! find VS - looking for Visual Studio version 2017
gyp ERR! find VS running in VS Command Prompt, installation path is:
gyp ERR! find VS "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017"
gyp ERR! find VS - will only use this version
gyp ERR! find VS could not use PowerShell to find Visual Studio 2017 or newer
gyp ERR! find VS looking for Visual Studio 2015
gyp ERR! find VS - found in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0"
gyp ERR! find VS - could not find MSBuild in registry for this version
gyp ERR! find VS not looking for VS2013 as it is only supported up to Node.js 8
gyp ERR! find VS msvs_version does not match this VS Command Prompt or the
gyp ERR! find VS installation cannot be used.
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS **************************************************************
gyp ERR! find VS You need to install the latest version of Visual Studio
gyp ERR! find VS including the "Desktop development with C++" workload.
gyp ERR! find VS For more information consult the documentation at:
gyp ERR! find VS https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp#on-windows
gyp ERR! find VS **************************************************************
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! configure error
gyp ERR! stack Error: Could not find any Visual Studio installation to use
gyp ERR! stack     at VisualStudioFinder.fail (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:121:47)
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:74:16
gyp ERR! stack     at VisualStudioFinder.findVisualStudio2013 (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:351:14)
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:70:14
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js:384:20
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\util.js:54:7
gyp ERR! stack     at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\util.js:33:16
gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:310:5)
gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:315:20)
gyp ERR! stack     at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)
gyp ERR! System Windows_NT 10.0.18362
gyp ERR! command "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe" "D:\\Desktop\\myapp\\node_modules\\node-gyp\\bin\\node-gyp.js" "rebuild" "--target=10.1.0" "--arch=x64" "--dist-url=https://www.electronjs.org/headers" "--build-from-source"
gyp ERR! cwd C:\Users\me\AppData\Local\Temp\electron-packager\win32-x64\myapp-win32-x64\resources\app\node_modules\zeromq
gyp ERR! node -v v12.18.3
gyp ERR! node-gyp -v v7.1.0
gyp ERR! not ok
    at ChildProcess.<anonymous> (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\@malept\cross-spawn-promise\src\index.ts:155:16)
    at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:315:20)
    at ChildProcess.EventEmitter.emit (domain.js:483:12)
    at ChildProcess.cp.emit (D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\cross-spawn\lib\enoent.js:34:29)
    at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)
    at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:286:5)
npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE
npm ERR! errno 1
npm ERR! myapp@1.0.0 make: `electron-forge make`
npm ERR! Exit status 1
npm ERR!
npm ERR! Failed at the myapp@1.0.0 make script.
npm ERR! This is probably not a problem with npm. There is likely additional logging output above.

npm ERR! A complete log of this run can be found in:
npm ERR!     C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\npm-cache\_logs\2020-08-28T04_40_16_364Z-debug.log

• Also tried to hack the visual studio locator code of node-gyp at D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js to insert amd64 to the lines

if (versionYear === 2017) {
        return path.join(info.path, 'MSBuild', '15.0', 'Bin', 'MSBuild.exe')
}
if (versionYear === 2019) {
    return path.join(info.path, 'MSBuild', 'Current', 'Bin', 'MSBuild.exe')
}

so that they become

if (versionYear === 2017) {
        return path.join(info.path, 'MSBuild', '15.0', 'Bin', 'amd64', 'MSBuild.exe')
}
if (versionYear === 2019) {
        return path.join(info.path, 'MSBuild', 'Current', 'Bin', 'amd64', 'MSBuild.exe')
}

• Then run npm run make again. Same errors as previous step.

Here is my build environment

D:\Desktop\myapp>npm config get msvs_version
2017

D:\Desktop\myapp>npm config get python
C:\Python\Python38\pythonw.exe

Python 3.8 is the 64bit version from python.org.

Question

What am I missing? Should I forget about VS2017? My project uses VS2017 for the C++ development so I'm afraid I can't change that. But should I install VS2015?

It's confusing that on node-gyp README.md, it first says

Launch cmd, npm config set msvs_version 2017

Then later in How to Use, it then says:

Auto-detection fails for Visual C++ Build Tools 2015, so --msvs_version=2015 needs to be added (not needed when run by npm as configured above):

$ node-gyp configure --msvs_version=2015

What's with this version discrepancy?

Answer 1

Finally figured it out myself.

Culprit

The Visual Studio environment variable LIB was contaminated on my local machine. There are some illegal characters in some paths in there, causing node-gyp parsing issues. After those characters are fixed, the problem went away.

Also, the 64bit fix in node-gyp source that I mentioned in the question is necessary:

// D:\Desktop\myapp\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\find-visualstudio.js

if (versionYear === 2017) {
    return path.join(info.path, 'MSBuild', '15.0', 'Bin', 'amd64', 'MSBuild.exe')
}
if (versionYear === 2019) {
    return path.join(info.path, 'MSBuild', 'Current', 'Bin', 'amd64', 'MSBuild.exe')
}

How did I find it

I really had to go into node-gyp source code to locate the issue. The way it locates Visual Studio installation is through a PowerShell command which calls another C# script Find-VisualStudio.cs that does the OS query job.

Unfortunately, the error log of this PowerShell command is not reflected in the immediate node-gyp or npm logs. After I yanked the command out and ran it in PowerShell, voila! The underlying system log from the PowerShell command run says something wrong with my LIB variable.

Moral lessons

• Rule of thumb: Leave Visual Studio environment variables as they are.
• The JS/node ecosystem has complicated dependencies. You must get your hands dirty by going into the source code to know what's going on.
• Given the sheer speed of the ecosystem, outdated tips may actually throw you off the right track, and "outdated" could mean half a year or just a few months before.

Answer 2

Try using the windows-build-tools npm package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/windows-build-tools. It's a package specifically designed to set up an environment for native builds like this on Windows.

You just need to install it globally:

npm install --global windows-build-tools

That's not guaranteed to work, given all your existing configuration, but on a clean system that alone should be sufficient to get a working build environment. If you still have trouble, their Github issue tracker & README (https://github.com/felixrieseberg/windows-build-tools) has quite a few suggestions. Good luck!