After the 1.5.2 -> 1.5.3 self-update the server ran 1.5.3 while the dashboard
still served the 1.5.2 UI. The client build had failed, and `runtime/client-dist`
still held the previous version's bundle, so nothing looked broken — the only
signal was the Settings page's "UI build v1.5.2 (rebuild client to match)".
Cause: the whole client build toolchain (vite, typescript,
@vitejs/plugin-react, tailwindcss, @types/*) is a devDependency, and npm reads
NODE_ENV=production as --omit=dev (`NODE_ENV=production npm config get omit` ->
`dev`). The dashboard server runs with NODE_ENV=production, and every bootstrap
descended from it inherits that: the plugin-update chain, and any SessionStart
fired by a `claude` running in a tmux pane the server started. So `npm ci`
dropped vite, `tsc -b` died on missing type declarations, and buildClient
returned "failed" with the stale bundle left in place.
`--include=dev` on both install paths — a CLI flag outranks the env, which is
the point. Verified by running buildClient with NODE_ENV=production against the
installed plugin root: previously "failed", now "built", and the served bundle
carries 1.5.3.
Also: plugin-update-helper writes its verdict BEFORE the bootstrap handover as
well as after. That step retires the process tree the helper hangs off, and the
observed run reached the new server with no verdict file at all — the dashboard
reported `last_plugin_update: null` for an update that had actually succeeded.
nntrivi2001
99e718ad91