fix(@angular/cli): support npm 12 metadata array and error formats

In npm 12, `npm view --json <packageName> <fields>` returns package metadata formatted as an array of objects rather than a single JSON object. This caused `metadata.versions` to evaluate to `undefined` and throw `Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'filter')` during `ng update`.

Additionally, npm 12 wraps JSON error output inside an `error` property (`{ "error": { "code": ... } }`), which is now unwrapped by `parseNpmLikeError`.

Closes #33679

Author: alan-agius4

packages/angular/cli/src/package-managers/parsers.ts

@@ -262,13 +262,26 @@ function isValidManifest(obj: unknown): obj is PackageManifest {
     return false;
   }
 
-  const record = obj as Record<string, unknown>;
-  const name = record.name;
-  const version = record.version;
+  const { name, version } = obj as Record<string, unknown>;
 
   return typeof name === 'string' && typeof version === 'string' && valid(version) !== null;
 }
 
+function isValidMetadata(obj: unknown): obj is PackageMetadata {
+  if (typeof obj !== 'object' || obj === null) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  const { name, versions, 'dist-tags': distTags } = obj as Record<string, unknown>;
+
+  return (
+    typeof name === 'string' &&
+    Array.isArray(versions) &&
+    typeof distTags === 'object' &&
+    distTags !== null
+  );
+}
+
 /**
  * Parses the output of `npm view` or a compatible command to get a package manifest.
  * @param stdout The standard output of the command.
@@ -340,7 +353,28 @@ export function parseNpmLikeMetadata(stdout: string, logger?: Logger): PackageMe
     return null;
   }
 
-  return JSON.parse(stdout);
+  const result = JSON.parse(stdout);
+
+  // npm 12+ `npm view --json` always returns an array of objects.
+  if (Array.isArray(result)) {
+    for (const item of result) {
+      if (isValidMetadata(item)) {
+        return item;
+      }
+    }
+
+    logger?.debug('  No valid metadata found in the array.');
+
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  if (!isValidMetadata(result)) {
+    logger?.debug('  Parsed JSON is not valid metadata (missing name, versions, or dist-tags).');
+
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  return result;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -479,9 +513,16 @@ export function parseNpmLikeError(output: string, logger?: Logger): ErrorInfo |
     return null;
   }
 
-  // Attempt to parse as JSON first (common for pnpm, modern yarn, bun)
+  // Attempt to parse as JSON first (common for pnpm, modern yarn, bun, npm 12)
   try {
-    const jsonError = JSON.parse(output);
+    let jsonError = JSON.parse(output);
+    if (Array.isArray(jsonError)) {
+      jsonError = jsonError[0];
+    }
+    if (jsonError && typeof jsonError === 'object' && 'error' in jsonError) {
+      jsonError = jsonError.error;
+    }
+
     if (
       jsonError &&
       typeof jsonError.code === 'string' &&

packages/angular/cli/src/package-managers/parsers_spec.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import {
   parseNpmLikeDependencies,
   parseNpmLikeError,
   parseNpmLikeManifest,
+  parseNpmLikeMetadata,
   parsePnpmReleaseAge,
   parseYarnClassicDependencies,
   parseYarnClassicError,
@@ -231,6 +232,22 @@ describe('parsers', () => {
       const error = parseNpmLikeError('An unexpected error occurred.');
       expect(error).toBeNull();
     });
+
+    it('should parse a structured JSON error wrapped in an error property (npm 12+ format)', () => {
+      const stdout = JSON.stringify({
+        error: {
+          code: 'E404',
+          summary: 'Not Found',
+          detail: 'Package not found.',
+        },
+      });
+      const error = parseNpmLikeError(stdout);
+      expect(error).toEqual({
+        code: 'E404',
+        summary: 'Not Found',
+        detail: 'Package not found.',
+      });
+    });
   });
 
   describe('parseNpmLikeManifest', () => {
@@ -295,6 +312,66 @@ describe('parsers', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  describe('parseNpmLikeMetadata', () => {
+    it('should parse a single metadata object', () => {
+      const stdout = JSON.stringify({
+        name: 'foo',
+        'dist-tags': { latest: '1.0.0' },
+        versions: ['1.0.0'],
+      });
+      expect(parseNpmLikeMetadata(stdout)).toEqual({
+        name: 'foo',
+        'dist-tags': { latest: '1.0.0' },
+        versions: ['1.0.0'],
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('should parse metadata from an array (npm 12+ format)', () => {
+      const stdout = JSON.stringify([
+        {
+          name: 'foo',
+          'dist-tags': { latest: '1.0.0' },
+          versions: ['1.0.0'],
+        },
+      ]);
+      expect(parseNpmLikeMetadata(stdout)).toEqual({
+        name: 'foo',
+        'dist-tags': { latest: '1.0.0' },
+        versions: ['1.0.0'],
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('should return the first valid metadata from an array', () => {
+      const stdout = JSON.stringify([
+        { name: 'foo' }, // Invalid (missing versions and dist-tags)
+        {
+          name: 'foo',
+          'dist-tags': { latest: '1.0.0' },
+          versions: ['1.0.0'],
+        },
+      ]);
+      expect(parseNpmLikeMetadata(stdout)).toEqual({
+        name: 'foo',
+        'dist-tags': { latest: '1.0.0' },
+        versions: ['1.0.0'],
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('should return null if no valid metadata is found in an array', () => {
+      const stdout = JSON.stringify([{ name: 'foo' }, { versions: ['1.0.0'] }]);
+      expect(parseNpmLikeMetadata(stdout)).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('should return null for invalid single object', () => {
+      const stdout = JSON.stringify({ name: 'foo' }); // Missing versions and dist-tags
+      expect(parseNpmLikeMetadata(stdout)).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('should return null for empty stdout', () => {
+      expect(parseNpmLikeMetadata('')).toBeNull();
+    });
+  });
+
   describe('parseYarnClassicManifest', () => {
     it('should parse a valid manifest', () => {
       const stdout = JSON.stringify({