Cant install node-red-contrib-serial-modbus on Windows

General
1

Hi to all,
Sorry if this topic is already solved, i was looking for the solution but couldnt find one.

I am trying to install node " node-red-contrib-serial-modbus" but unsuccessfully.
Below is the error i get.

Any help is much appreciated.

C:\Users\vkrtolica>npm install node-red-contrib-serial-modbus
npm warn deprecated npmlog@4.1.2: This package is no longer supported.
npm warn deprecated are-we-there-yet@1.1.7: This package is no longer supported.
npm warn deprecated gauge@2.7.4: This package is no longer supported.
npm warn cleanup Failed to remove some directories [
npm warn cleanup   [
npm warn cleanup     '\\\\?\\C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\@serialport\\bindings',
npm warn cleanup     [Error: EBUSY: resource busy or locked, rmdir 'C:\Users\vkrtolica\node_modules\@serialport\bindings'] {
npm warn cleanup       errno: -4082,
npm warn cleanup       code: 'EBUSY',
npm warn cleanup       syscall: 'rmdir',
npm warn cleanup       path: 'C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\@serialport\\bindings'
npm warn cleanup     }
npm warn cleanup   ],
npm warn cleanup   [
npm warn cleanup     '\\\\?\\C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\prebuild-install',
npm warn cleanup     [Error: EPERM: operation not permitted, rmdir 'C:\Users\vkrtolica\node_modules\prebuild-install\node_modules\readable-stream\lib\internal'] {
npm warn cleanup       errno: -4048,
npm warn cleanup       code: 'EPERM',
npm warn cleanup       syscall: 'rmdir',
npm warn cleanup       path: 'C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\prebuild-install\\node_modules\\readable-stream\\lib\\internal'
npm warn cleanup     }
npm warn cleanup   ],
npm warn cleanup   [
npm warn cleanup     '\\\\?\\C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\node-red-contrib-serial-modbus\\node_modules',
npm warn cleanup     [Error: EPERM: operation not permitted, rmdir 'C:\Users\vkrtolica\node_modules\node-red-contrib-serial-modbus\node_modules'] {
npm warn cleanup       errno: -4048,
npm warn cleanup       code: 'EPERM',
npm warn cleanup       syscall: 'rmdir',
npm warn cleanup       path: 'C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\node-red-contrib-serial-modbus\\node_modules'
npm warn cleanup     }
npm warn cleanup   ]
npm warn cleanup ]
npm error code 1
npm error path C:\Users\vkrtolica\node_modules\node-red-contrib-serial-modbus\node_modules\modbus-serial\node_modules\@serialport\bindings
npm error command failed
npm error command C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe /d /s /c prebuild-install --tag-prefix @serialport/bindings@ || node-gyp rebuild
npm error gyp info it worked if it ends with ok
npm error gyp info using node-gyp@9.4.1
npm error gyp info using node@22.12.0 | win32 | x64
npm error (node:9336) [DEP0060] DeprecationWarning: The `util._extend` API is deprecated. Please use Object.assign() instead.
npm error (Use `node --trace-deprecation ...` to show where the warning was created)
npm error gyp info find Python using Python version 3.13.1 found at "C:\Python313\python.exe"
npm error gyp info find VS using VS2022 (17.13.35828.75) found at:
npm error gyp info find VS "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools"
npm error gyp info find VS run with --verbose for detailed information
npm error gyp info spawn C:\Python313\python.exe
npm error gyp info spawn args [
npm error gyp info spawn args   'C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\node-gyp\\gyp\\gyp_main.py',
npm error gyp info spawn args   'binding.gyp',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-f',
npm error gyp info spawn args   'msvs',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-I',
npm error gyp info spawn args   'C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\node-red-contrib-serial-modbus\\node_modules\\modbus-serial\\node_modules\\@serialport\\bindings\\build\\config.gypi',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-I',
npm error gyp info spawn args   'C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\node-gyp\\addon.gypi',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-I',
npm error gyp info spawn args   'C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\AppData\\Local\\node-gyp\\Cache\\22.12.0\\include\\node\\common.gypi',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-Dlibrary=shared_library',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-Dvisibility=default',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-Dnode_root_dir=C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\AppData\\Local\\node-gyp\\Cache\\22.12.0',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-Dnode_gyp_dir=C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\node-gyp',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-Dnode_lib_file=C:\\\\Users\\\\vkrtolica\\\\AppData\\\\Local\\\\node-gyp\\\\Cache\\\\22.12.0\\\\<(target_arch)\\\\node.lib',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-Dmodule_root_dir=C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\node-red-contrib-serial-modbus\\node_modules\\modbus-serial\\node_modules\\@serialport\\bindings',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-Dnode_engine=v8',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '--depth=.',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '--no-parallel',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '--generator-output',
npm error gyp info spawn args   'C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\node-red-contrib-serial-modbus\\node_modules\\modbus-serial\\node_modules\\@serialport\\bindings\\build',
npm error gyp info spawn args   '-Goutput_dir=.'
npm error gyp info spawn args ]
npm error Traceback (most recent call last):
npm error   File "C:\Users\vkrtolica\node_modules\node-gyp\gyp\gyp_main.py", line 42, in <module>
npm error     import gyp  # noqa: E402
npm error     ^^^^^^^^^^
npm error   File "C:\Users\vkrtolica\node_modules\node-gyp\gyp\pylib\gyp\__init__.py", line 9, in <module>
npm error     import gyp.input
npm error   File "C:\Users\vkrtolica\node_modules\node-gyp\gyp\pylib\gyp\input.py", line 19, in <module>
npm error     from distutils.version import StrictVersion
npm error ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'distutils'
npm error gyp ERR! configure error
npm error gyp ERR! stack Error: `gyp` failed with exit code: 1
npm error gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.onCpExit (C:\Users\vkrtolica\node_modules\node-gyp\lib\configure.js:325:16)
npm error gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess.emit (node:events:524:28)
npm error gyp ERR! stack     at ChildProcess._handle.onexit (node:internal/child_process:293:12)
npm error gyp ERR! System Windows_NT 10.0.26100
npm error gyp ERR! command "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe" "C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\node_modules\\node-gyp\\bin\\node-gyp.js" "rebuild"
npm error gyp ERR! cwd C:\Users\vkrtolica\node_modules\node-red-contrib-serial-modbus\node_modules\modbus-serial\node_modules\@serialport\bindings
npm error gyp ERR! node -v v22.12.0
npm error gyp ERR! node-gyp -v v9.4.1
npm error gyp ERR! not ok
npm error A complete log of this run can be found in: C:\Users\vkrtolica\AppData\Local\npm-cache\_logs\2025-03-19T09_19_59_449Z-debug-0.log
2

I tried running npm install --global windows-build-tools but again it cant do it.

C:\Windows\System32>npm install --global windows-build-tools
npm warn deprecated inflight@1.0.6: This module is not supported, and leaks memory. Do not use it. Check out lru-cache if you want a good and tested way to coalesce async requests by a key value, which is much more comprehensive and powerful.
npm warn deprecated har-validator@5.1.5: this library is no longer supported
npm warn deprecated glob@7.2.3: Glob versions prior to v9 are no longer supported
npm warn deprecated uuid@3.4.0: Please upgrade  to version 7 or higher.  Older versions may use Math.random() in certain circumstances, which is known to be problematic.  See https://v8.dev/blog/math-random for details.
npm warn deprecated request@2.88.2: request has been deprecated, see https://github.com/request/request/issues/3142
npm warn deprecated windows-build-tools@5.2.2: Node.js now includes build tools for Windows. You probably no longer need this tool. See https://github.com/felixrieseberg/windows-build-tools for details.
npm warn cleanup Failed to remove some directories [
npm warn cleanup   [
npm warn cleanup     '\\\\?\\C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\AppData\\Roaming\\npm\\node_modules\\windows-build-tools\\node_modules\\nugget',
npm warn cleanup     [Error: EPERM: operation not permitted, rmdir 'C:\Users\vkrtolica\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\windows-build-tools\node_modules\nugget'] {
npm warn cleanup       errno: -4048,
npm warn cleanup       code: 'EPERM',
npm warn cleanup       syscall: 'rmdir',
npm warn cleanup       path: 'C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\AppData\\Roaming\\npm\\node_modules\\windows-build-tools\\node_modules\\nugget'
npm warn cleanup     }
npm warn cleanup   ],
npm warn cleanup   [
npm warn cleanup     '\\\\?\\C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\AppData\\Roaming\\npm\\node_modules\\windows-build-tools',
npm warn cleanup     [Error: EPERM: operation not permitted, rmdir 'C:\Users\vkrtolica\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\windows-build-tools\node_modules'] {
npm warn cleanup       errno: -4048,
npm warn cleanup       code: 'EPERM',
npm warn cleanup       syscall: 'rmdir',
npm warn cleanup       path: 'C:\\Users\\vkrtolica\\AppData\\Roaming\\npm\\node_modules\\windows-build-tools\\node_modules'
npm warn cleanup     }
npm warn cleanup   ]
npm warn cleanup ]
npm error code 1
npm error path C:\Users\vkrtolica\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\windows-build-tools
npm error command failed
npm error command C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe /d /s /c node ./dist/index.js
npm error Downloading python-2.7.15.amd64.msi
npm error [>                                            ] 0.0% (0 B/s)
npm error ^[[1000D^[[0K^[[1A^[[1000D^[[0K^[[1A^[[1000D^[[0KDownloading python-2.7.15.amd64.msi
npm error [============================================>] 100.0% (0 B/s)
npm error ^[[1000D^[[0K^[[1A^[[1000D^[[0K^[[1A^[[1000D^[[0KDownloading python-2.7.15.amd64.msi
npm error [============================================>] 100.0% (0 B/s)
npm error Downloaded python-2.7.15.amd64.msi. Saved to C:\Users\vkrtolica\.windows-build-tools\python-2.7.15.amd64.msi.
npm error
npm error
npm error ^[[1000D^[[0K^[[1A^[[1000D^[[0K^[[1A^[[1000D^[[0KDownloading vs_BuildTools.exe
npm error [>                                            ] 0.0% (0 B/s)
npm error ^[[1000D^[[0K^[[1A^[[1000D^[[0K^[[1A^[[1000D^[[0KDownloading vs_BuildTools.exe
npm error [============================================>] 100.0% (0 B/s)
npm error ^[[1000D^[[0K^[[1A^[[1000D^[[0K^[[1A^[[1000D^[[0KDownloading vs_BuildTools.exe
npm error [============================================>] 100.0% (0 B/s)
npm error Downloaded vs_BuildTools.exe. Saved to C:\Users\vkrtolica\.windows-build-tools\vs_BuildTools.exe.
npm error
npm error Starting installation...
npm error Downloading installers failed. Error: TypeError: 'process.env' only accepts a configurable, writable, and enumerable data descriptor
npm error     at Function.defineProperty (<anonymous>)
npm error     at Object.removePath (C:\Users\vkrtolica\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\windows-build-tools\dist\utils\remove-path.js:11:12)
npm error     at Object.install (C:\Users\vkrtolica\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\windows-build-tools\dist\install\index.js:29:19)
npm error     at C:\Users\vkrtolica\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\windows-build-tools\dist\start.js:17:19
npm error     at Object.download (C:\Users\vkrtolica\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\windows-build-tools\dist\download.js:35:5)
npm error     at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:105:5)
npm error     at async Object.aquireInstallers (C:\Users\vkrtolica\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\windows-build-tools\dist\aquire-installers.js:32:13) {
npm error   code: 'ERR_INVALID_OBJECT_DEFINE_PROPERTY'
npm error }
npm error windows-build-tools will now exit.
npm error (node:21856) [DEP0040] DeprecationWarning: The `punycode` module is deprecated. Please use a userland alternative instead.
npm error (Use `node --trace-deprecation ...` to show where the warning was created)
npm error A complete log of this run can be found in: C:\Users\vkrtolica\AppData\Local\npm-cache\_logs\2025-03-19T09_28_22_466Z-debug-0.log
3
  1. Why are you installing that? It is very seriously out of date. The better & more up-to-date package is node-red-contrib-modbus
  2. You are NOT in the right directory. You are in the user directory. Typically it would be C:\Users\vkrtolica\.node-red
  1. This is not required and is depreciated. The correct way to do this is to tick the box to install necessary tools when you install NodeJS
    image
    image490Ă—377 15.3 KB
  2. You get the EPERM permissions issue because to run npm -g it needs an administrative command prompt.
4

Hi Steve,

My goal is to use node-red app as Modbus RTU master, to poll data from some ModbusRTU slave devices.
I understood that node-red-contrib-modbus can act only as ModbusRTU slave.

I did also installation of Node.js with selected Automatically install the necessary tools, still the result is the same.

I run command prompt as Administrator.

5

It can be a server/slave or a client/master. The most typical use for node-red-contrib-modbus is to read values from modbus server/slave.

Do you mean you used an Account with Administrator permissions or you ran the cmd prompt with "Run as Administrator"? (there is a difference)

Long story short. Avoid node-red-contrib-serial-modbus its dependancies for serialport are for v7.x [6 years old]. The current version of serialport is v13 [Released 3m ago]

6

I selected

Run as Administrator

to run the command prompt.

Since you said i could use node-red-contrib-modbus to act as ModbusRTU master and read the data from slaves, I will investigate this option further. I thought it can act only as a slave.

Thanks a lot for you for your assistance Steve!

7

You should not be doing that for Windows installations.

8

By default, npm global installation require admin privileges.

but for the local .node-red installs, no, the OP should not. The reason the OP got an error would likely be due to running npm install in the wrong directory

9

It is different in Windows:

image
image319Ă—199 3.48 KB

You don't need and should not typically run a global npm install from an admin PowerShell.

10

Ah, yes. I was mixing it up with linux. On systems I used to look after, we moved npm global to be truly global (and protected)

1 Like
11

Indeed, and you do need sudo for a global install on a properly configured Linux/MacOS box. Doing so on Windows will likely result in odd permissions issues.