Only require unsafe-perm if you are root

Remove it from the docs, as the error message should be sufficient and
it seems weird to recommend unsafe-perm by default.

ci/build/npm-postinstall.sh

@@ -51,6 +51,18 @@ symlink_bin_script() {
   cd "$oldpwd"
 }
 
+command_exists() {
+  if [ ! "$1" ]; then return 1; fi
+  command -v "$@" > /dev/null
+}
+
+is_root() {
+  if command_exists id && [ "$(id -u)" = 0 ]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+  return 1
+}
+
 OS="$(os)"
 
 main() {
@@ -75,17 +87,20 @@ main() {
     exit 1
   fi
 
+  # Under npm, if we are running as root, we need --unsafe-perm otherwise
+  # post-install scripts will not have sufficient permissions to do their thing.
+  if is_root; then
     case "${npm_config_user_agent-}" in npm*)
-    # We are running under npm.
       if [ "${npm_config_unsafe_perm-}" != "true" ]; then
         echo "Please pass --unsafe-perm to npm to install code-server"
-      echo "Otherwise the postinstall script does not have permissions to run"
+        echo "Otherwise post-install scripts will not have permissions to run"
         echo "See https://docs.npmjs.com/misc/config#unsafe-perm"
         echo "See https://stackoverflow.com/questions/49084929/npm-sudo-global-installation-unsafe-perm"
         exit 1
       fi
       ;;
     esac
+  fi
 
   if ! vscode_install; then
     echo "You may not have the required dependencies to build the native modules."

docs/android.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ nvm install 18
 nvm use 18
 ```
 
-8. Install code-server globally on device with: `npm install --global code-server --unsafe-perm`
+8. Install code-server globally on device with: `npm install --global code-server`
 9. Run code-server with `code-server`
 10. Access on localhost:8080 in your browser
 

docs/npm.md

@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ Installing code-server requires all of the [prerequisites for VS Code developmen
 Next, install code-server with:
 
 ```bash
-npm install --global code-server --unsafe-perm
+npm install --global code-server
 code-server
 # Now visit http://127.0.0.1:8080. Your password is in ~/.config/code-server/config.yaml
 ```
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ For help and additional troubleshooting, see [#1397](https://github.com/coder/co
 After adding the dependencies for your OS, install the code-server package globally:
 
 ```bash
-npm install --global code-server --unsafe-perm
+npm install --global code-server
 code-server
 # Now visit http://127.0.0.1:8080. Your password is in ~/.config/code-server/config.yaml
 ```
@@ -144,8 +144,8 @@ To debug installation issues, install with `npm`:
 
 ```shell
 # Uninstall
-npm uninstall --global --unsafe-perm code-server > /dev/null 2>&1
+npm uninstall --global code-server > /dev/null 2>&1
 
 # Install with logging
-npm install --loglevel verbose --global --unsafe-perm code-server
+npm install --loglevel verbose --global code-server
 ```

docs/termux.md

@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ code-server --auth none
 7. If already installed then use the following command for upgradation.
 
 ```
-npm update --global code-server --unsafe-perm
+npm update --global code-server
 ```
 
 ## Upgrade