[verification] HIGH: @claude-flow/cli@alpha --version times out (>60s, SIGTERM) in cold-cache npx

[ruvnet]

Summary

npx -y @claude-flow/cli@alpha --version timed out and was killed (SIGTERM, exit 143) after 60 seconds in a cold-cache npx environment. No version was printed. The CLI package installed successfully but the --version invocation never completed.

Impact

New or CI users running npx @claude-flow/cli@alpha <command> in a cold-cache environment (fresh Docker container, CI runner, first install) will experience an indefinite hang or timeout before any output appears. This affects the primary user-facing install path.

Expected

@claude-flow/cli@alpha --version prints a version string >= 3.7.0-alpha.20 within a few seconds

Actual

Terminated
CLI exit code: 143

Command Output

# Install succeeded:
added 2 packages in 1s

# Exports check passed:
plugin-agent-federation@alpha exports OK, version: 1.0.0-alpha.17

# CLI version check:
timeout 60 npx -y @claude-flow/cli@alpha --version 2>&1 | tail -5
Terminated
CLI exit code: 143

Relevant Report Section

Check 2: Published Package Smoke Test

• Status: PARTIALLY FAILED (exports OK, CLI timeout)
• Severity: HIGH
• Exit code: 143 (SIGTERM at 60s)

Environment

• Commit: 29f048fc3b556f857cf2b126d2a84c19d2daa0d0
• Timestamp UTC: 2026-09-01T19:03:58Z
• Node: v22.22.2
• npm: 10.9.7
• OS: Linux vm 6.18.44-fc-v22 x86_64
• npx cache: cold

Related

• [verification] MEDIUM: ruflo@alpha --version times out (>120s, SIGTERM) in cold-cache npx #3145 — ruflo@alpha --version times out (same symptom, MEDIUM severity, ruflo wrapper)

Recommended Fix

Investigate the CLI startup path for blocking operations before --version can return — heavy require() chain, native addon initialization, network calls to check for updates, or daemon startup logic that stalls in a cold environment.

[ruvnet]

Verification recurrence — 2026-09-02T07:05:43Z

Commit: 4d0134e59b4fa5e8552cb7b98c6b9846f08b0c82
Severity: MEDIUM

npx -y @claude-flow/cli@alpha --version still times out (SIGTERM, exit 124) after 130s in a cold-cache environment. This is the 4th+ occurrence of this finding across verification runs.

npm view @claude-flow/cli dist-tags confirms the published version is 3.38.20 (alpha=latest=3.38.20), so the package itself is not stale — the hang is in the npx install/startup path.

@ruvnet — this has now been open for multiple runs without resolution. The CLI alpha is unusable in cold-cache environments (CI, fresh containers, user first installs).

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Generated by Claude Code

[ruvnet]

Recurring occurrence — 2026-09-03T07:05:18Z

Commit: db4991967c45c6f72133dff0bb80b0a492960fc1
Severity: HIGH
Node: v22.22.2 | npm: 10.9.7 | OS: Linux x86_64

npx -y @claude-flow/cli@alpha --version timed out again (killed by SIGTERM, exit 143) after 120s in a cold-cache environment. No version was printed.

# During install (succeeded in 68s):
npm warn deprecated koa-router@14.0.0: Please use @koa/router instead
npm warn deprecated prebuild-install@7.1.3: No longer maintained
# ...
# CLI version via npx:
[Terminated - exit 143]

However, once the package is installed, the CLI runs correctly:

node node_modules/.bin/claude-flow --version
# → ruflo v3.38.21

This confirms the timeout is in the npx cold-cache download + startup path, not the CLI binary itself. The install of @claude-flow/cli@alpha with 656 packages takes ~68s in this environment, leaving no room for the version command to run before a typical 60–120s timeout.

2nd confirmed occurrence (prior: 2026-09-01T19:03:58Z, this run: 2026-09-03T07:05:18Z).

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Generated by Claude Code