fix(conversation-memory): silent first run with graceful CLI wrapper

[baleen37]

Summary

Fix ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND error on first run by adding graceful CLI wrapper that checks for node_modules before importing better-sqlite3. When dependencies are missing, npm install runs asynchronously in background with silent exit.

Problem

The conversation-memory plugin threw a SessionStart:startup hook error on first run because the SessionStart hook directly called cli.mjs, which immediately imported better-sqlite3 before dependencies were installed. The plugin eventually recovered after auto-installing dependencies, but the initial error message was noisy and confusing.

Solution

Add cli-graceful.mjs wrapper that:

1. Checks if node_modules exists before importing dependencies
2. If missing, starts npm install in background (silent, detached)
3. Exits immediately with code 0 (no error message)
4. Next session: dependencies exist, inject works normally

Changes

• src/cli-graceful.mjs (new) - checks deps, runs npm install in background
• scripts/build.mjs - outputs cli-internal.mjs (bundled) + cli.mjs (wrapper copy)
• hooks/ensure-deps.sh - updated to run silently in background
• hooks/hooks.json - simplified (no longer needs ensure-deps hook)

Testing

First run (no deps): Silent exit, background npm install
Second run (with deps): Normal CLI operation
All BATS tests pass

🤖 Generated with Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Performance

  • Dependency installation now executes silently in the background, eliminating startup blocking and improving responsiveness.
  • Reduced hook timeout for quicker initialization.

• Chores

  • Restructured build output and updated CLI initialization wrapper.

[coderabbitai]

Caution

Review failed

The pull request is closed.

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This PR implements graceful dependency handling for the conversation-memory plugin by introducing a CLI wrapper that detects missing node_modules and launches a silent background npm install. The build system now outputs the core CLI as cli-internal.mjs while exposing a graceful wrapper as the entry point, and the hook timeout was reduced.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Graceful CLI Wrapper plugins/conversation-memory/src/cli-graceful.mjs	New wrapper script that checks for node_modules existence; spawns detached background npm install if missing; otherwise dynamically imports and delegates to cli-internal.mjs.
Build System Updates plugins/conversation-memory/scripts/build.mjs	Modified build output to generate dist/cli-internal.mjs for the core CLI and added a build step to copy src/cli-graceful.mjs to dist/cli.mjs as the entry point.
Dependency Installation plugins/conversation-memory/hooks/ensure-deps.sh	Replaced synchronous npm install with silent, detached background process that redirects output to /dev/null and exits immediately.
Hook Configuration plugins/conversation-memory/hooks/hooks.json	Reduced SessionStart hook timeout from 10000ms to 1000ms.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~20 minutes

Possibly related PRs

• feat(conversation-memory): improve MCP installation error handling #373: Implements a similar plugin wrapper pattern with auto-run npm install when node_modules is missing, using an alternative mcp-server-wrapper approach with stderr-based error handling.
• fix(conversation-memory): add auto-install hook for dependencies #353: Directly modifies the conversation-memory plugin's auto-install behavior for node dependencies through hook scripts and SessionStart integration.

Poem

🐰 A graceful wrapper hops so spry,

Checking node_modules on the sly,

When missing, spawns install unseen,

Then leaps to CLI, quiet and lean! 🚀

✨ Finishing touches

• 📝 Generate docstrings

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Post copyable unit tests in a comment
• Commit unit tests in branch fix/conversation-memory-first-run

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