Problem installing Pop Shell on Zorin 16.3

[Z-Bubble]

Hello there!
I'm just trying to install the Pop Shell to Zorin to get the Window tiling feature. Following steps I have done in the Terminal:

1. sudo apt install git node-typescript make
2. git clone GitHub - pop-os/shell: Pop!_OS Shell
3. cd shell
4. make local-install

During the last step I get the following messages including 3 error-messages:

"
UUID is "pop-shell@system76.com"
depcheck
rm -rf _build target
env PROJECTS="color_dialog floating_exceptions" ./scripts/transpile.sh

• pwd
• pwd=/home/boris/shell
• rm -rf _build
• mkdir -p _build/color_dialog
• glib-compile-schemas schemas
• tsc --p src/color_dialog
• mkdir -p _build/floating_exceptions
• tsc --p src/floating_exceptions
• tsc
  src/paths.ts:2:12 - error TS1343: The 'import.meta' meta-property is only allowed when the '--module' option is 'esnext' or 'system'.

2 return import.meta.url.split('://')[1].split('/').slice(0, -1).join('/');
~~~~~~~~~~~

tsconfig.json:18:29 - error TS6046: Argument for '--moduleResolution' option must be: 'node', 'classic'.

18 "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
~~~~~~~~~~

tsconfig.json:19:19 - error TS6046: Argument for '--module' option must be: 'none', 'commonjs', 'amd', 'system', 'umd', 'es6', 'es2015', 'es2020', 'esnext'.

19 "module": "NodeNext"
~~~~~~~~~~

Found 3 errors.

make: *** [Makefile:38: compile] Fehler 2
"

I don't know, what went wrong here. Is someone able to help?

Thanks in advance!

[zenzen]

Hi and welcome to the ZorinOS forum!

Those are TypeScript errors, probably due to an unsupported version of Node.js and/or TypeScript compiler being used. Run node -v on a terminal window to check your current version, anything below 18 is unsupported.

If that is the case I would strongly suggest to remove your current installation of both TypeScript and Node.js and re-install it again. To remove them:

sudo npm remove typescript
sudo apt purge nodejs

Here are some general instructions on how to install it:
[Note from future self: Crosslinking an easier set of instructions here for installing Node.js:

Pop Shell on Zorin 17.1

How to install Pop!_OS's tiling shell on Zorin OS Install Node.js by visiting the installation instructions from the official website: [sc2] I would recommend using the version marked as LTS, which as of the time of this writing is version 20. After selecting the appropriate version on the dropdown as shown in the screenshot, run the commands shown one at the time in the terminal. Note that after the first one completes, you probably need to close the terminal and re-launch it for changes t…

The below is the original set, left for the integrity of the record. ]

1. Install Node.js following these instructions from the official documentation.

2. Install TypeScript for the current user (for safety and convenience is best to avoid installing packages globally):

   mkdir ~/.npm-global
   npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
   
   # Make sure to add this to your `~/.profile` or `~/.bashrc` to ensure this location is always available, not only during this terminal session.
   export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH
   
   npm install -g typescript
   

   Please do not use node-typescript as it's severely outdated (last updated 11 years ago).

3. Download the appropriate branch of the pop-shell repository. Since ZorinOS 16 is based off of Ubuntu 20.04, you need to use the Jammy Focal branch:

[Note from Future self:
I just noticed I messed up badly in writing those instructions. Where I say:

-Download the appropriate branch of the pop-shell repository. Since ZorinOS 16 is based off of Ubuntu 20.04, you need to use the Jammy branch:
+Download the appropriate branch of the pop-shell repository. Since ZorinOS 16 is based off of Ubuntu 20.04, you need to use the Focal branch:

The steps are the same, you just need to pay attention to which branch you're installing. Use the branches master_focal or master_jammy for Zorin OS 16 and 17, respectively. ]

git clone --branch master_focal https://github.com/pop-os/shell.git

4. Switch to the downloaded repository and install:

   cd shell
   make local-install
   

[Z-Bubble]

Thank you so much for your great and detailed help!
Everything worked and pop shell runs.

[zabadabadoo]

If you have added pop-os repository to your software sources to achive this, once you are done with installing, I suggest you remove that repository to avoid future grief with Pop-OS updates messing with your ZorinOS. See this:

Error 5 on fresh install

If you have added system76 repository to install Popsicle, then advise you remove that now you have installed Popsicle. There have been at least one case of PopOS updates messing up ZorinOS due to that.

[samlowry]

Thank you for the instruction!
PS. I was getting typescript not installed errors attempting this solution. I then gave up. And then, for lols, tried with

sudo npm install -g typescript

instead of

npm install -g typescript

And no more errors. Not sure why that worked.

[zenzen]

When you install packages globally (that's what the -g flag stands for) you need elevated permissions. The fact that you needed to use sudo makes me think that you skipped this step:

npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'

as that will ensure that packages installed with the -g flag are saved in that location, under your user's home directory and thus no need for additional permissions.
This obviously is not required, but it's desirable, as it reduces the risk of security vulnerabilities. Since you've already installed it using sudo I wouldn't necessarily recommend uninstalling everything, but for future reference remember to do this as it's a simple step that can make a big difference.