[Bug]: npm install -g @minimax-ai/code prints deprecation warning for prebuild-install@7.1.3 (transitive via better-sqlite3@12.11.1)

[Ace-Kelly]

What happened

Running npm install -g @minimax-ai/code (or npm update -g) prints a deprecation warning for a transitive dependency. The warning is noise today, but prebuild-install is officially unmaintained, so future Node or prebuild-mirror changes could turn this into a real install failure.

npm warn deprecated prebuild-install@7.1.3: No longer maintained. Please contact the author of the relevant native addon; alternatives are available.

Where it comes from

The deprecated package is pulled in transitively via better-sqlite3, which @minimax-ai/code lists as an optionalDependency:

@minimax-ai/code@0.1.6
  └─ optionalDependencies
     └─ better-sqlite3@12.11.1
        └─ prebuild-install@7.1.3   ← deprecated, unmaintained

better-sqlite3 is only used by verify-native-install.mjs (the postinstall smoke test that runs SELECT 1 AS value). The main cli.js and matrix-mcp-stdio.js do not require("better-sqlite3").

Environment

• MCode CLI: 0.1.6 (npm @minimax-ai/code)
• npm: 11.10.0
• Node.js: 22.22.0 (within the supported range >=22.19 <23 || >=24 <27)
• OS: Windows 11 家庭中文版 (build 26200)
• Install command: npm install -g @minimax-ai/code

Steps to reproduce

1. Uninstall any prior copy: npm uninstall -g @minimax-ai/code
2. npm install -g @minimax-ai/code
3. Read the npm output

Expected behavior

No deprecation warnings. better-sqlite3 is only used for a one-line postinstall smoke test, so carrying an unmaintained transitive dep is not worth the cost.

Suggested fix

Either of these would clear the warning with no behavior change:

1. Bump optionalDependencies.better-sqlite3 to ^13.0.0. better-sqlite3@13.x drops prebuild-install entirely (only node-addon-api remains), ships prebuilds via the package exports field, and requires Node ≥ 22, which already matches MCode's supported Node range.

2. Drop better-sqlite3 from optionalDependencies (and verify-native-install.mjs) if the runtime doesn't actually need it. I checked the installed bundle — the only consumer of better-sqlite3 is the postinstall smoke test.

I tested option 1 locally on Windows 11: the smoke test still passes with better-sqlite3@13.0.3 (SELECT 1 AS value returns { value: 1 }), and npm install no longer prints any deprecation warning.

[1anZhang]

Thanks for the detailed report. We’ve confirmed the warning comes from better-sqlite3@12.11.1. This dependency is required by the MCode runtime, so it cannot be removed.

Version 13 removes prebuild-install, but it also changes the native binary distribution and may affect Electron, offline installation, and Linux compatibility. We’ll evaluate the upgrade through our compatibility matrix before shipping it. The current warning does not affect successful installation or runtime behavior.

[Ace-Kelly]

Thanks for the clarification — noted that better-sqlite3 is genuinely required by the runtime. My static check on the published bundle only saw direct require() calls; clearly the runtime path goes further than what grep shows. Understood on holding the v13 upgrade until your compat matrix clears it.

Interim data point for anyone landing here later: on Windows 11 / Node 22.22 I locally bumped optionalDependencies.better-sqlite3 to ^13.0.0 (resolved to 13.0.3) and the postinstall smoke test (verify-native-install.mjs → SELECT 1 AS value) still passes. It's a local patch, not durable across npm update -g, but useful as a stopgap until the official upgrade ships.