Searching for Node.js and npm packages for Sailfish OS

Platform Development
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Hello everyone,

I’m looking for a reasonably recent Node.js and npm package for Sailfish OS.

My goal is to run modern JavaScript/TypeScript command-line tools (for example AI coding assistants and other npm-based CLI applications) directly on Sailfish OS.

I have found references to older Node.js packages in OpenRepos, but many of them seem to be outdated. Before I start building Node.js myself, I’d like to ask:

  • Are there any actively maintained Node.js packages or repositories for Sailfish OS?

  • Is anyone currently packaging Node.js 20.x, 22.x, or newer?

  • Are npm and pnpm available and working reliably?

  • Has anyone successfully run modern Node.js CLI applications on recent Sailfish OS releases (5.0/5.1)?

  • Are there any plans to provide Node.js packages through Chum or other community repositories?

Any recommendations, repositories, build instructions, or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

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I am: node.js | OpenRepos.net — Community Repository System

And everyone who uses BitSailor uses node in the background.

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Thank you for the pointer and for maintaining the package. I’ll definitely give it a try.

Out of curiosity, has anyone managed to run Claude Code successfully on Sailfish OS using your Node.js package?

Thanks a lot!

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I found the i686 build and successfully installed it in the Sailfish OS VirtualBox emulator. Node.js 20.19.4 and npm are working perfectly.

One more question: is there a Node.js 22 RPM available for i686, or is Node.js 20 currently the latest build for the Sailfish OS emulator?

Being able to run modern Node.js-based tools directly in the emulator is extremely useful for development and testing while I’m eagerly waiting for my Jolla Phone II.

Thank you for your support and for maintaining the package!

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For anyone interested in testing modern Node.js tools on Sailfish OS:

:white_check_mark: Node.js 20.19.4 and npm 10.8.2 work successfully in the Sailfish OS 5.1 VirtualBox Emulator (i686).

:cross_mark: Claude Code does not currently run because Anthropic does not provide a native binary for the linux-ia32 architecture used by the emulator.

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Nope, sadly node 20 is the latest that’s supported on x86, though for aarch64 it’s kept fairly up-to-date as is armv7.

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On phone got 25.9.0 which seems good enough to run pi.dev (using pkgx tho to save on rootfs, takes a litttle bit of setup but all binaries are in /home so no issues with system updates etc), don’t think this will work with emulator
Edit: but just tell claude on your pc to provide linux x86 binaries of node@22 and make no mistakes and you’re golden
Edit2: you probably could add pkgx installation instructions to barebones finger/toeterm and explore what is possible this way on device, but yeah node@22 x86 linux is not officially supported, you’d need claude to get you that, good luck, maybe mythos

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there is packaging for aarch64:

sources:

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Is this supposed to be available through chum? (nevermind only seeing nodejs18 spec)