npm install -g from a github: URL fails — nested git deps prepared without node_modules

[skansal-rome]

Symptom. The README's former primary install path fails on npm 11 / node 24 (and the npx cache path is unaffected):

npm install -g github:rome-protocol/rome-cli#v0.8.0
npm error command sh -c npm run build
npm error src/bin.ts(4,6): error TS2591: Cannot find name 'process'. …
npm error error TS2307: Cannot find module 'viem' / 'zod' / '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js' …

Installing a packed tarball globally fails the same way, one level deeper:

npm error git dep preparation failed
npm error command sh -c npm run build        # @rome-protocol/sdk 0.2.1 prepare
npm error src/cpi.ts(1,68): error TS2307: Cannot find module 'viem' …

Cause. During a global install, npm prepares github: dependencies (this package itself, and its @rome-protocol/sdk / @rome-protocol/registry git deps) by running their prepare → tsc in a temp clone without installing that clone's own dependencies first, so the compile sees an empty node_modules. Non-global contexts (npx one-shot, npm install in a clone) prepare correctly.

What works today (README updated in #24):

• npx github:rome-protocol/rome-cli … — one-shot
• git clone … && npm install && npm install -g . — durable install

Real fix. Publish @rome-protocol/cli, @rome-protocol/sdk, and @rome-protocol/registry to the npm registry — published tarballs ship built dist/ and need no prepare step, which removes the git-dep preparation path entirely. (Publishing the CLI alone is not enough: its git deps still trigger preparation.) Interim alternative if publish stays blocked: commit dist/ to the tagged releases or attach release tarballs.