[user-github-me]

A malformed cached optional-package manifest makes hyperframes doctor --json exit with an error and no report. The version reader also returns non-string and absent versions despite its string | null contract, which can make dependency availability checks report a package as installed.

Read the cache manifest as unknown, return a non-empty string version only, and return null for missing, unreadable, or invalid manifests. A pinned package beside the CLI retains priority. This change only reads metadata; it does not load package entries or repair the cache.

Validation:

• Ten regression cases fail on main; all 112 optional-package, doctor, local-embedder, local-search, and local-model tests pass with the fix.
• Built CLI in an isolated production dependency layout: malformed JSON and null change from exit 1 with no JSON to exit 0 with the complete doctor report. A numeric version is reported as unavailable; a valid cached version remains 1.52.0 installed. No optional package was downloaded or installed during these checks.
• CLI build/typecheck, workspace lint, formatting, comment checks, test reachability, and normal commit hooks pass.

Related: #4156 introduced the cache and #4507 added pinned packages beside the CLI. Both are merged; this corrects the remaining cached-manifest reader.

[jrusso1020]

Main still does an unguarded JSON.parse(...).version cast in installedOptionalPackageVersion, so a truncated cached manifest throws out of checkOptionalPackage and doctor --json dies, while {} returns undefined and passes the !== null check in localEmbedder.isLocalRuntimeInstalled. Dropping the isInstalled pre-check is safe, since that function is only an existsSync on the same manifest path and a missing file now lands in the catch. The pinned-beside-CLI path still takes priority. The tests cover malformed JSON, null, non-object, missing, numeric and empty versions through both the reader and the doctor check. Need: yes, still broken on main · Size: ok · Reuse: n/a · Simpler: already minimal.

— Rames