[BUG] CircuitPython: Show Available Libraries results in 'Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'name')' error

[alexlinde]

Was working when first installed. Uninstalled and reinstalled the CircuitPython extension, deleted the /Users/<>/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/joedevivo.vscode-circuitpython folder for good measure. Running the 'Show Available Libraries' command always results in this error message

MacOS 12.3.1
VSCode 1.66.2
CircuitPython v0.1.17

[HughGrant]

same here, have you find any clue about it?

[HughGrant]

@alexlinde currently, we can just use CIRCUP to manage the bundle library until this get fixed.

[leeroywking]

This just started happening to me too for all the library related commands I tried.
Circuit Python: List Project Libraries
Circuit Python: Show available libraries

[tyeth]

Been happening here for a while, thought it was my fault, I did manually add non-standard micropython libraries.
The message is

[2022-08-31 14:54:04.595] [exthost] [error] TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'name')
    at new LibraryQP (c:\Users\tyeth\.vscode-insiders\extensions\joedevivo.vscode-circuitpython-0.1.19-win32-x64\out\librarymanager\libraryManager.js:25:24)
    at c:\Users\tyeth\.vscode-insiders\extensions\joedevivo.vscode-circuitpython-0.1.19-win32-x64\out\librarymanager\libraryManager.js:149:26
    at Array.forEach (<anonymous>)
    at LibraryManager.getInstalledChoices (c:\Users\tyeth\.vscode-insiders\extensions\joedevivo.vscode-circuitpython-0.1.19-win32-x64\out\librarymanager\libraryManager.js:146:59)
    at LibraryManager.update (c:\Users\tyeth\.vscode-insiders\extensions\joedevivo.vscode-circuitpython-0.1.19-win32-x64\out\librarymanager\libraryManager.js:134:28)
    at c:\Users\tyeth\.vscode-insiders\extensions\joedevivo.vscode-circuitpython-0.1.19-win32-x64\out\container.js:41:75
    at c._executeContributedCommand (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:85:63770)
    at c.$executeContributedCommand (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:85:64474)
    at i._doInvokeHandler (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:95:13689)
    at i._invokeHandler (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:95:13371)
    at i._receiveRequest (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:95:12141)
    at i._receiveOneMessage (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:95:10843)
    at c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:95:8950
    at b.invoke (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:61:145)
    at p.deliver (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:61:2266)
    at v.fire (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:61:1844)
    at a.fire (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:69:19042)
    at c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:111:17079
    at b.invoke (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:61:145)
    at p.deliver (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:61:2266)
    at v.fire (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:61:1844)
    at a.fire (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:69:19042)
    at MessagePortMain.<anonymous> (c:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\api\node\extensionHostProcess.js:111:15119)
    at MessagePortMain.emit (node:events:526:28)
    at Object.MessagePortMain._internalPort.emit (node:electron/js2c/utility_process_init:5:364) circuitpython.library.update {"value":"joedevivo.vscode-circuitpython","_lower":"joedevivo.vscode-circuitpython"}

[mirkoschubert]

I maybe found a solution! It seems that the LibraryManager tries to read all installed libraries and fails. So the workspaceLibraries won't be written at all and the error will occur.

So I tried two solutions to make this work again:

1. I had some custom libraries in the lib folder, so I moved them out - no success
2. Every file on my Adafruit board (in my case the Matrix Portal M4) had a companion file with ._, e.g. ._code.py. I deleted them. - success

I don't know what the ._ files are for and if they come either from this extension or from another, but deleting them helped to use the LibraryManager again.

[tyeth]

Move the custom libraries back and see if it still works. I'm messing with libraries and have it symlinked in, also containing other build folders like .git .vscode .pio. I don't think I have any underscore copies of files 🤔

[mirkoschubert]

Yeah, I just restarted VS Code and the LibraryManager wouldn't work again...

I just experimented some more. It seems that the ._ files are generated when I copy libraries from the adafruit_circlepython_bundle manually. And moving all custom libraries out of the lib folder (without symlinking them back in) seems to do the trick. I could reproduce it by moving them back in.

But I don't see why the extension does that. Maybe it has to to with the .mpy format?

[IrregularShed]

I've had this problem repeatedly, from the first time I tried the extension. I've got a project I'm working on that really lends itself to CircuitPython and I really don't like the alternative editor choices, so I've spent some time recovering from Covid (again) trying to fix this - or, at the very least, understanding it and finding a workaround.

I think I've succeeded in the second part. I'll need to get used to Typescript and extension authoring to do the first part (oh, and also the whole 'rona situation).

The bug detection

Working backwards from the error alert, "Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'name')", we can deduce that something is trying to work with .name on an object that hasn't been initialised correctly. So, I found the folder that the extension code resides in on my PC, and opened that up in VS Code. A global search for .name had a few matches in the Library Manager, which makes sense, so before each one I put a unique console.log line in. (I'm old-school, what can I say.) Back in the VS Code instance I've been using with CircuitPython I ran one of the commands that was failing for me and, when it did, opened up the Electron DevTools to see what would've triggered it.

The constructor for LibraryQP was where it was getting thrown, against the first parameter, so I searched for where LibraryQP was getting instantiated. This led me to getInstalledChoices() and getUninstalledChoices(), both of which weren't doing any sanity checking on the values it was getting from the list of libraries which appear to be coming from the file system. (Remember I mentioned covid? I got too worn out to investigate that further.) I added a check to these functions, and now it works.

The proper fix

When I'm recovered, I'll do try and do this (unless some other hero wants a bash at it). I've been hacking around at the compiled javascript to make it work, and the proper fix needs to be done in the source typescript. I had a quick glance but need to be feeling better.

The hacky fix

• Find the extension's installed directory. For me, that is ~/.vscode/extensions/joedevivo.vscode-circuitpython-0.1.19-win32-x64/.
• Open the file out/librarymanager/libraryManager.js
• Look for the getInstalledChoices() code. It's followed immediately by getUninstalledChoices(), which we'll also be modifying.
• Surround the line choices.push(new LibraryQP(b, p)); with a conditional, like so:

if (b) {
  choices.push(new LibraryQP(b, p));
}

• Alter the conditional in the next function to also check b, like so:

if (b && !this.workspaceLibraries.has(v)) {
  choices.push(new LibraryQP(b, null));
}

• Save and close VS Code, then open your CircuitPython project - the library commands should now work.

Remember - this is only temporary. Any update to the extension will hose this directory, so hopefully the next upload will have fixes in it!

[steka]

I have the same error, and I running CircuitPython 8.0.0 beta 6 on a Raspberry Pi Pico W.
Is it perhaps related to the patch I had to do to make Serial Monitor to work, see #103 (comment)

[veggie2u]

Two separate issues. Well, one explanation, and one solved issue. The ._file does show up if a circuit python device is connected to my computer and I manually move a file/folder on OSX to the circuit python device. This is a Mac thing. OSX is adding "extend file attributes" on a fat32 like device that can't accept the extended attributes OSX wants. So, not really and issue. Delete if you want.

The library issue is a bug. It is caused by using a file/library in the lib folder that is not in the Adafruit Circuit Python list of official libraries. In my case I was trying to use Bluepad32 which you can get from GitHub or the community download of libraries. When all the existing library files/folders are looped over, information is gleaned from the Adafruit repo about this library. However, like IrregularShed discovered, it is not found and is therefore undefined. I have a pull request that may or may not be merged that would fix this. It would display the library and version and indicate it is not undateable.

#122

[DrewBatchelor]

Thank you @IrregularShed your hacky fix has worked for me.