Node.js Runtime Fix

Date: 2026-02 Scope: Worker runtime loading, environment setup, action execution

Problem

Node.js actions from installed packs (e.g., nodejs_example) were stuck in "In Progress" status and never completing. Three root causes were identified:

1. Runtime Name Mismatch (Blocking)

The ATTUNE_WORKER_RUNTIMES env var for the node worker is shell,node, but the database runtime name is "Node.js" which lowercases to "node.js". The worker's filter used exact string matching (filter.contains(&rt_name)), so "node.js" was never found in ["shell", "node"]. The Node.js ProcessRuntime was never registered, meaning no worker could handle Node.js executions.

2. Broken Environment Setup

The Node.js execution_config in packs/core/runtimes/nodejs.yaml had:

create_command: ["npm", "init", "-y"] — ran in the pack directory (read-only in Docker), didn't create anything at {env_dir}
install_command: ["npm", "install", "--prefix", "{pack_dir}"] — tried to write node_modules into the read-only pack directory

3. Missing NODE_PATH

Even with correct installation, Node.js couldn't find modules installed at {env_dir}/node_modules because Node resolves modules relative to the script location, not the environment directory. No mechanism existed to set NODE_PATH during execution.

Solution

Runtime Name Normalization

Added normalize_runtime_name() and runtime_in_filter() to crates/common/src/runtime_detection.rs. These functions map common aliases to canonical names:

node / nodejs / node.js → node
python / python3 → python
shell / bash / sh → shell
native / builtin / standalone → native

Updated crates/worker/src/service.rs and crates/worker/src/env_setup.rs to use runtime_in_filter() instead of exact string matching.

RuntimeExecutionConfig.env_vars

Added an env_vars: HashMap<String, String> field to RuntimeExecutionConfig in crates/common/src/models.rs. Values support the same template variables as other fields ({env_dir}, {pack_dir}, {interpreter}, {manifest_path}).

In ProcessRuntime::execute (crates/worker/src/runtime/process.rs), runtime env_vars are resolved and injected into the action's environment before building the command.

Fixed Node.js Runtime Config

Updated packs/core/runtimes/nodejs.yaml and scripts/seed_runtimes.sql:

execution_config:
  interpreter:
    binary: node
    args: []
    file_extension: ".js"
  environment:
    env_type: node_modules
    dir_name: node_modules
    create_command:
      - sh
      - "-c"
      - "mkdir -p {env_dir} && cp {manifest_path} {env_dir}/ 2>/dev/null || true"
    interpreter_path: null
  dependencies:
    manifest_file: package.json
    install_command:
      - npm
      - install
      - "--prefix"
      - "{env_dir}"
  env_vars:
    NODE_PATH: "{env_dir}/node_modules"

Files Changed

File	Change
`crates/common/src/models.rs`	Added `env_vars` field to `RuntimeExecutionConfig`
`crates/common/src/runtime_detection.rs`	Added `normalize_runtime_name()`, `runtime_matches_filter()`, `runtime_in_filter()` with tests
`crates/worker/src/service.rs`	Use `runtime_in_filter()` for ATTUNE_WORKER_RUNTIMES matching
`crates/worker/src/env_setup.rs`	Use `runtime_in_filter()` for runtime filter matching in env setup
`crates/worker/src/runtime/process.rs`	Inject `env_vars` into action environment during execution
`crates/worker/src/runtime/local.rs`	Added `env_vars` field to fallback config
`packs/core/runtimes/nodejs.yaml`	Fixed `create_command`, `install_command`, added `env_vars`
`scripts/seed_runtimes.sql`	Fixed Node.js execution_config to match YAML
`crates/worker/tests/*.rs`	Added `env_vars` field to test configs
`AGENTS.md`	Documented runtime name normalization, env_vars, and env setup requirements

Testing

All 424 unit tests pass
Zero compiler warnings
New tests for normalize_runtime_name, runtime_matches_filter, runtime_in_filter

Deployment Notes

After deploying, the Node.js runtime config in the database needs to be updated. This happens automatically when packs are re-registered (the pack loader reads the updated YAML). Alternatively, run the updated seed_runtimes.sql script.

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