[BUG] Installation fails with EINVAL - broken symlinks to temp directory for data/scripts

[dfeirstein]

Problem

Installing via npx skills add fails for 25 out of 26 agents with an EINVAL error. The skill appears to install but data/ and scripts/ are broken symlinks pointing to a cleaned-up temp directory, causing:

python3: can't open file '/Users/.../.claude/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/scripts/search.py': [Errno 2] No such file or directory

Error Output

■  Failed to install 25

  ✗ ui-ux-pro-max → Claude Code: Invalid src or dest: cp returned EINVAL
    (cannot copy /var/folders/.../T/skills-XXXXX/src/ui-ux-pro-max/data
    to a subdirectory of self
    /var/folders/.../T/skills-XXXXX/src/ui-ux-pro-max/data)
    /Users/.../.agents/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/data

This error repeats for all agents except Antigravity.

Root Cause

The installer:

1. Clones the repo to a temp directory (/var/folders/.../T/skills-XXXXX/)
2. Creates the shared location at ~/.agents/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/ with symlinks pointing back to the temp directory
3. Attempts to cp the data/ and scripts/ directories, but since the symlinks already point to the source, it detects a circular copy ("cannot copy to a subdirectory of self") and fails with EINVAL
4. The temp directory is eventually cleaned up by the OS, leaving broken symlinks

After install, data and scripts are dangling symlinks:

data -> /var/folders/.../T/skills-XXXXX/src/ui-ux-pro-max/data  (broken)
scripts -> /var/folders/.../T/skills-XXXXX/src/ui-ux-pro-max/scripts  (broken)

Workaround

Manually clone the repo and copy the directories as real files:

git clone https://github.com/nextlevelbuilder/ui-ux-pro-max-skill.git /tmp/ui-ux-pro-max-skill

# Remove broken symlinks
rm ~/.claude/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/data ~/.claude/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/scripts

# Copy as real directories
cp -R /tmp/ui-ux-pro-max-skill/src/ui-ux-pro-max/data ~/.claude/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/data
cp -R /tmp/ui-ux-pro-max-skill/src/ui-ux-pro-max/scripts ~/.claude/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/scripts
cp -R /tmp/ui-ux-pro-max-skill/src/ui-ux-pro-max/templates ~/.claude/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/templates

rm -rf /tmp/ui-ux-pro-max-skill

Environment

• macOS (Darwin 24.6.0)
• Installed via: npx skills add https://github.com/nextlevelbuilder/ui-ux-pro-max-skill --skill ui-ux-pro-max --yes

[mrgoonie]

Hey @dfeirstein, thanks for the detailed bug report!

This is a known issue with the ZIP-based installation method. The symlinks point to the temp directory which gets cleaned up after extraction, leaving broken symlinks for data/ and scripts/.

This has been addressed in newer versions. Please try:

npx uipro-cli@latest init --ai claude --force

The --force flag will overwrite the broken installation. If you're still seeing the issue, the fallback is to clone the repo directly:

git clone https://github.com/nextlevelbuilder/ui-ux-pro-max-skill.git

And copy the relevant folders manually.

cc @thieung

[mrgoonie]

Summary: This old report is still valid as a packaging/install bug class and should stay linked to the current symlink/real-file packaging work rather than being treated as already solved.

Decision: accepted / backlog

Evidence:

• The report gives a concrete npx skills add ... --skill ui-ux-pro-max --yes install path, macOS environment, EINVAL copy failure, and dangling data/scripts symlink result.
• Current related PRs fix: ship skill assets as real copies for Windows compatibility #336, Fix codegen/validator bugs and a standalone-install break across four skills #346, and Replace symlinks with real files and add conversion script #368 are still open and all address real-file assets / symlink packaging in overlapping ways.
• The repo still has active install/package distribution issues around shipped assets (Cannot install skill #347, app-interface.csv shows newer repo/release state version 2.5.0, but npm still ships older version 2.2.3 #353, uipro init delivers only 1 of 7 skills #362), so this remains useful as the original temp-directory symlink failure case.

Next step: keep this as an accepted packaging bug and resolve it with the final source-of-truth packaging/release fix, then verify both the skills add path and the uipro-cli path install real, non-dangling data/, scripts/, and templates/ directories.