download:plugins fails if "theiaPlugins" is not present in package.json

[lal12]

Bug Description:

download:plugins fails if "theiaPlugins" is not present in package.json

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Follow guide on https://theia-ide.org/docs/composing_applications/
2. Remove "theiaPlugins" key from package.json
3. Run "theia download:plugins" or just "yarn"

Additional Information

• Operating System: Ubuntu 20.04
• Theia Version: 1.2.0 and next

[akosyakov]

What would you expect? Docs says that you should have theiaPlugins.

[vince-fugnitto]

@lal12 the download:plugins script should only be used if you are actually planning to download the plugins defined in the package.json. If this is not your intentions then you should not call it (and neither should your prepare script). There is no reason to call the script if this is not your goal.

[lal12]

I would assume that you could have no object in there, if you are using a bunch of standard scripts maybe from another project. I expected a npm/yarn compatible behavior, which also won't fail if no dependency property is specified.

However I also get your position and think failing is an acceptable option. But in this case I think there should be a proper error message, currently there is just a TypeError.