fix: build better-sqlite3 native addon so backend can start#65
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Yarn 4 disables package build scripts by default, so better-sqlite3's
native addon was never compiled. Without better_sqlite3.node the backend's
SQLite database client fails ("Could not locate the bindings file"),
catalog-backend initialization throws, backend.start() never completes, and
every /api/catalog/* route 404s — surfacing as an empty catalog in the UI
(readiness stays 503 "Backend has not started yet").
Opt better-sqlite3 into building via dependenciesMeta so the addon compiles
on install.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Problem
The Backstage catalog renders empty and every
/api/catalog/*request 404s. Root cause: the backend never finishes starting./.backstage/health/v1/readinessreturns503 "Backend has not started yet"(liveness staysok).Yarn 4 disables package build scripts by default, so
better-sqlite3's native addon (better_sqlite3.node) is never compiled. The in-memory SQLite client then fails withCould not locate the bindings file, catalog-backend init throws,backend.start()hangs, and no plugin routes mount — so the frontend can't fetch entities.Fix
Opt
better-sqlite3into building viadependenciesMetain the rootpackage.json. Onyarn installthe addon compiles (node_modules/better-sqlite3/build/Release/better_sqlite3.node).Verification
After the fix, the backend boots fully:
Plugin initialization complete … 'catalog', DB migration runs,/api/catalog/entitiesreturns 200, and the search collator indexes bothsoftware-catalogand therwdocs.org/ref-annotated entity.🤖 Generated with Claude Code