Windows: install.ps1 fails with SyntaxError due to node -e truncating at double-quotes

[scottconverse]

Bug

install.ps1 fails on Windows PowerShell 5.1 with a SyntaxError mid-way through the JSON merge script:

[eval]:17
      command: 'node '
                      
Expected ',', got '<eof>'

SyntaxError: Unexpected end of input

Root cause

Line 183 passes the multiline JS here-string to Node via node -e $nodeScript. On Windows, PowerShell passes arguments to external executables through the Windows command processor, which terminates the argument at the first unescaped double-quote character. The JS string contains 'node "' + hooksDir + ... — the " after node ends the argument, so Node only receives a truncated fragment.

The hook files are copied successfully but settings.json is never updated, leaving caveman non-functional.

Fix

Write the script to a temp file and run node tempfile.js instead of node -e. Temp file is cleaned up in a finally block.

$tmpScript = Join-Path $env:TEMP "caveman-install-$([System.Diagnostics.Process]::GetCurrentProcess().Id).js"
try {
    [System.IO.File]::WriteAllText($tmpScript, $nodeScript, [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
    node $tmpScript
} finally {
    if (Test-Path $tmpScript) { Remove-Item $tmpScript -Force }
}

PR with fix: https://github.com/scottconverse/caveman/pull/new/fix/windows-node-e-truncation

Environment

• Windows 11 Pro 10.0.26200
• Windows PowerShell 5.1
• Node.js v24.14.0

[Abbasam8910]

Windows: install.ps1 fails — here's the fix

The installer doesn't work on Windows due to a PowerShell quoting issue. Simple workaround — skip the installer and place files manually.

Step 1: Create the folder structure

plugins/
caveman/
skills/
caveman/
SKILL.md

Paste the caveman skill content into SKILL.md.

Step 2: Register the plugin

In .agents/plugins/marketplace.json, add caveman to the plugins list:

{
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "caveman",
      "path": "./plugins/caveman"
    }
  ]
}

Step 3: Verify

Restart Claude Code. Type caveman — if it responds in compressed style, it's working.

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Tested on Windows 11 with Claude Code. No terminal commands needed, no install.ps1 required.