fix: improve npm version check with proper environment handling

- Set NODE_PATH when running npm from nvm installation
- Add fallback to check npm version via node if direct execution fails
- Better error messages showing exit code and stderr
- Handle npm execution failures more gracefully

Fixes issue where npm is found but version check fails due to
missing environment variables in Jupyter kernel.

Author: T-DevH

notebooks/setup/complete_setup_guide.ipynb

@@ -117,17 +117,79 @@
     "        return False, None, f\"❌ {command} is not installed or not in PATH\"\n",
     "    \n",
     "    try:\n",
+    "        # For npm, ensure we have proper environment (especially for nvm)\n",
+    "        env = os.environ.copy()\n",
+    "        # If npm is in nvm path, ensure NODE_PATH is set\n",
+    "        if 'nvm' in command_path and command == 'npm':\n",
+    "            nvm_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(command_path))\n",
+    "            if 'NODE_PATH' not in env:\n",
+    "                env['NODE_PATH'] = nvm_dir\n",
+    "        \n",
     "        result = subprocess.run(\n",
     "            [command_path, version_flag],\n",
     "            capture_output=True,\n",
     "            text=True,\n",
-    "            timeout=5\n",
+    "            timeout=5,\n",
+    "            env=env\n",
     "        )\n",
     "        if result.returncode != 0:\n",
-    "            return False, None, f\"❌ {command} found but version check failed\"\n",
+    "            # For npm, try alternative: use node to check npm version\n",
+    "            if command == 'npm':\n",
+    "                try:\n",
+    "                    # Try: node -e \"console.log(require('npm/package.json').version)\"\n",
+    "                    node_dir = os.path.dirname(command_path)\n",
+    "                    node_path = os.path.join(node_dir, 'node')\n",
+    "                    if os.path.exists(node_path):\n",
+    "                        alt_result = subprocess.run(\n",
+    "                            [node_path, '-e', \"console.log(require('npm/package.json').version)\"],\n",
+    "                            capture_output=True,\n",
+    "                            text=True,\n",
+    "                            timeout=5,\n",
+    "                            env=env\n",
+    "                        )\n",
+    "                        if alt_result.returncode == 0:\n",
+    "                            version = alt_result.stdout.strip()\n",
+    "                            return True, version, f\"✅ {command} found: {version}\"\n",
+    "                except:\n",
+    "                    pass\n",
+    "            return False, None, f\"❌ {command} found but version check failed (exit code: {result.returncode}, stderr: {result.stderr[:100]})\"\n",
     "        version = result.stdout.strip() or result.stderr.strip()\n",
     "        return True, version, f\"✅ {command} found: {version}\"\n",
     "    except Exception as e:\n",
+    "        # For npm, if direct execution fails, try finding it via node\n",
+    "        if command == 'npm':\n",
+    "            try:\n",
+    "                node_ok, node_version, node_msg = check_command('node')\n",
+    "                if node_ok:\n",
+    "                    # Find node's directory and check for npm there\n",
+    "                    node_path_result = subprocess.run(\n",
+    "                        ['which', 'node'],\n",
+    "                        capture_output=True,\n",
+    "                        text=True,\n",
+    "                        timeout=5\n",
+    "                    )\n",
+    "                    if node_path_result.returncode == 0:\n",
+    "                        node_path = node_path_result.stdout.strip()\n",
+    "                        node_dir = os.path.dirname(node_path)\n",
+    "                        npm_candidate = os.path.join(node_dir, 'npm')\n",
+    "                        if os.path.exists(npm_candidate):\n",
+    "                            # Try running npm with proper environment\n",
+    "                            env = os.environ.copy()\n",
+    "                            nvm_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(node_path))\n",
+    "                            if 'NODE_PATH' not in env:\n",
+    "                                env['NODE_PATH'] = nvm_dir\n",
+    "                            npm_result = subprocess.run(\n",
+    "                                [npm_candidate, '--version'],\n",
+    "                                capture_output=True,\n",
+    "                                text=True,\n",
+    "                                timeout=5,\n",
+    "                                env=env\n",
+    "                            )\n",
+    "                            if npm_result.returncode == 0:\n",
+    "                                version = npm_result.stdout.strip()\n",
+    "                                return True, version, f\"✅ {command} found: {version}\"\n",
+    "            except:\n",
+    "                pass\n",
     "        return False, None, f\"⚠️  {command} found but version check failed: {e}\"\n",
     "\n",
     "def check_python_version():\n",