npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE
npm ERR! errno 1
npm ERR! myproject@1.0.0 build: `react-scripts build`
npm ERR! Exit status 1

This error means a script defined in your package.json crashed. ELIFECYCLE itself isn’t the real error — it’s just npm telling you “the script you ran exited with a non-zero code.” The actual error is usually printed above this message.

Fix 1: Read the actual error above

Scroll up in your terminal. The real error is printed before the ELIFECYCLE message. Common culprits:

• Module not found: Can't resolve '...' — missing import
• SyntaxError — broken code
• JavaScript heap out of memory — fix here
• EACCES: permission denied — fix here

Fix 2: Clean install

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

Corrupted node_modules is the most common cause. This fixes it 80% of the time.

Fix 3: Clear npm cache

npm cache clean --force
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

Fix 4: Check your Node.js version

Some packages require specific Node versions:

node --version

Check the engines field in package.json or the project’s README. Use nvm to switch versions:

nvm install 20
nvm use 20

Fix 5: Run the script directly

If npm run build fails, run the underlying command directly to get a cleaner error:

# Check what the script actually runs
cat package.json | grep -A1 '"build"'

# Run it directly
npx react-scripts build