[BUG] Encoungering an unexpected ENOTDIR while trying to open non-existing runtime.json

[mvhenten]

Describe the bug

I'm running an npm build inside npm workspace on AWS codebuild resulting in a rather unexpected ENOTDIR:

npm ERR! path /codebuild/output/src3165309868/src/packages/client
npm ERR! command failed
npm ERR! command sh -c npm run prepare:virtual-config && npm run build
npm ERR! > @dittoapp/client@0.0.0 prepare:virtual-config
npm ERR! > ./plugins/generate-types.mjs > plugins/virtual-config.d.ts
npm ERR! /codebuild/output/src3165309868/src/node_modules/config/lib/config.js:832
npm ERR!       throw new Error('Config file ' + fullFilename + ' cannot be read. Error code is: '+e2.code
npm ERR!             ^
npm ERR! 
npm ERR! Error: Config file /codebuild/output/src3165309868/src/packages/client/config/runtime.json cannot be read. Error code is: ENOTDIR. Error message is: ENOTDIR: not a directory, open '/codebuild/output/src3165309868/src/packages/client/config/runtime.json'
npm ERR!     at util.parseFile (/codebuild/output/src3165309868/src/node_modules/config/lib/config.js:832:13)
npm ERR!     at util.loadFileConfigs (/codebuild/output/src3165309868/src/node_modules/config/lib/config.js:707:28)
npm ERR!     at new Config (/codebuild/output/src3165309868/src/node_modules/config/lib/config.js:116:27)
npm ERR!     at Object.<anonymous> (/codebuild/output/src3165309868/src/node_modules/config/lib/config.js:1515:33)
npm ERR!     at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1356:14)
npm ERR!     at Module._extensions..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1414:10)
npm ERR!     at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1197:32)
npm ERR!     at Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1013:12)
npm ERR!     at ModuleWrap.<anonymous> (node:internal/modules/esm/translators:202:29)
npm ERR!     at ModuleJob.run (node:internal/modules/esm/module_job:195:25)
npm ERR! 
npm ERR! Node.js v18.19.1

The repo is organized with each package symlinking the config folder in root:

config/
   runtime.json
packages/
   client/
      config --> ../../config

This works just fine on local development and inside a github action, but CodeBuild chokes. After some tinkering, setting NODE_CONFIG_DIR=../../config fixed the build so it's clearly an issue with the symlink approach - looking trough the code I am mystified by the ENOTDIR thrown by the readFileSync on config.js:832...

Please tell us about your environment:

• node-config version: ^3.3.11
• node-version: v20.11.1
• NODE_ENV=development (explicitly set in buildspec)
• I do not have a runtime.json anywhere in my project

Other information

I am aware this is a problem in my setup (AWS CodeBuild!), not a problem in node-config, but posting this in the hope someone has seen this and knows why the symlink is broken on this particular environment (CodeBuild on some flavour of Amazon Linux).

Please feel free to close this if you're as mystified as I am :)