Fixing gh-pages: Resolving spawn ENAMETOOLONG
Resolving spawn ENAMETOOLONG in gh-pages Deployment
If you've been using the gh-pages package for a while, especially in projects with large build folders or complex structures, you might have encountered the dreaded spawn ENAMETOOLONG error when running your deploy script.
The Problem
When executing the standard deployment command:
gh-pages -d build -b gh-pagesThe process fails with a system error indicating that the argument list or the command path itself has exceeded the operating system's limits. This is often related to how the underlying globby or async dependencies handle file lists in older versions of the package (like 6.3.0).
The issue is documented and discussed in detail here: gh-pages Issue #585 .
The Fix
The specific fix for this issue was highlighted in this GitHub comment , which explains that the ENAMETOOLONG error occurs on Windows when the rm command receives an excessively long list of files as arguments.
diff --git a/lib/git.js b/lib/git.js index d4c5724272d00bd1f0d76c47dab47d21ccd094d9..d86ac2b0bd7cbc02f34a50dac6980965102ee964 100644 --- a/lib/git.js +++ b/lib/git.js @@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ Git.prototype.rm = function (files) { if (!Array.isArray(files)) { files = [files]; } - return this.exec('rm', '--ignore-unmatch', '-r', '-f', '--', ...files); + return this.exec('rm', '--ignore-unmatch', '-r', '-f', '--', '.'); }; /**The suggested workarounds included batching the file deletions or simplifying the command to target the current directory (.) instead of individual files. Fortunately, these improvements (including a more robust batching logic and a migration to tinyglobby) have already been merged into the main branch of the repository via PR #607.
While we wait for a stable release on NPM that fully addresses this in all environments, the most effective way to resolve it is to use the latest development version directly from the source.
By updating your package.json to point to the GitHub repository's main branch, you get the latest fixes (including the migration to tinyglobby and updated commander logic) that bypass these system limits.
Implementation
Update your package.json dependencies:
"devDependencies": { "gh-pages": "github:tschaub/gh-pages" }Then, refresh your installations:
npm installThis simple change allowed us to resume our production deployments without hitches, ensuring that our "Brutalist" digital garden stays fresh and accessible.