From a4bd09fb858bab602a710bb505d998916c347eea Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kamran Abdul Aziz <kamran@shifteq.com>
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:27:16 +0530
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Run npm verbosely when debug mode is enabled

When an npm command hangs or misbehaves during preparation, the runner
shows nothing that explains where it is stuck. Append --loglevel=silly
to the npm install and build commands when WPT_DEBUG is set, matching
how debug mode already adds verbosity to the rsync operations. Default
behavior is unchanged.

Based on the approach in #221 by @rollecode, updated to gate the
verbosity behind WPT_DEBUG as suggested in the review discussion.
---
 .env.default | 3 ++-
 README.md    | 4 ++--
 prepare.php  | 7 ++++++-
 3 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.env.default b/.env.default
index df58ae0..3f38c21 100644
--- a/.env.default
+++ b/.env.default
@@ -60,7 +60,8 @@ export WPT_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_BASE64=""
 # Whether to enable debug Mode.
 #
 # Enabling debug mode will output verbose logging and details about each part
-# of the test runner.
+# of the test runner. It also runs npm install and build commands with
+# --loglevel=silly during preparation.
 #
 # 0 = Debug mode off
 # 1 = Debug mode on
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 73917db..26b8c9c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ export WPT_SSH_OPTIONS=""
 export WPT_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_BASE64=""
 
 # Output logging
-# Use 'verbose' to increase verbosity
+# Use 'verbose' to increase verbosity; also runs npm with --loglevel=silly
 export WPT_DEBUG=""
 
 # Certificate validation
@@ -390,7 +390,7 @@ export WPT_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_BASE64=""
 
 **Output logging**
 
-Output logging. Use 'verbose' to increase verbosity.
+Output logging. Use 'verbose' to increase verbosity. When set, the npm install and build commands during preparation also run with `--loglevel=silly`.
 
 ```
 export WPT_DEBUG=""
diff --git a/prepare.php b/prepare.php
index 9473ca2..aaf2e4e 100644
--- a/prepare.php
+++ b/prepare.php
@@ -84,6 +84,11 @@
  * - Clones the WordPress/wordpress-develop repository from GitHub.
  * - Install npm dependencies and run the build script.
  */
+// When debug mode is enabled, run npm at its most verbose logging level, so a
+// hung or slow npm command shows what it is doing instead of sitting silent.
+// The same debug mode adds verbosity to the rsync operations further down.
+$npm_verbosity = $runner_vars['WPT_DEBUG'] ? ' --loglevel=silly' : '';
+
 // Prepare an array of shell commands to set up the testing environment.
 perform_operations(
 	array(
@@ -96,7 +101,7 @@
 		'git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop.git ' . escapeshellarg( $runner_vars['WPT_PREPARE_DIR'] ),
 
 		// Change directory to the preparation directory, install npm dependencies, and build the project.
-		'cd ' . escapeshellarg( $runner_vars['WPT_PREPARE_DIR'] ) . '; npm install && npm run build',
+		'cd ' . escapeshellarg( $runner_vars['WPT_PREPARE_DIR'] ) . '; npm install' . $npm_verbosity . ' && npm run build' . $npm_verbosity,
 
 	)
 );

From c1599799229c826695c814e554493536a3be84d7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kamran Abdul Aziz <kamran@shifteq.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 20:25:59 +0530
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Move the npm verbosity setup above the checkout comment
 block

Keeps the existing block attached to the perform_operations() call it describes and uses the file's multi-line comment style, as suggested in review.
---
 prepare.php | 12 +++++++-----
 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/prepare.php b/prepare.php
index ddcda71..d503cfc 100644
--- a/prepare.php
+++ b/prepare.php
@@ -76,6 +76,13 @@
 }
 
 
+/*
+ * When debug mode is enabled, run npm at its most verbose logging level, so a
+ * hung or slow npm command shows what it is doing instead of sitting silent.
+ * The same debug mode adds verbosity to the rsync operations further down.
+ */
+$npm_verbosity = $runner_vars['WPT_DEBUG'] ? ' --loglevel=silly' : '';
+
 /*
  * Checkout and prepare wordpress-develop for testing.
  *
@@ -84,11 +91,6 @@
  * - Clones the WordPress/wordpress-develop repository from GitHub.
  * - Install npm dependencies and run the build script.
  */
-// When debug mode is enabled, run npm at its most verbose logging level, so a
-// hung or slow npm command shows what it is doing instead of sitting silent.
-// The same debug mode adds verbosity to the rsync operations further down.
-$npm_verbosity = $runner_vars['WPT_DEBUG'] ? ' --loglevel=silly' : '';
-
 // Prepare an array of shell commands to set up the testing environment.
 perform_operations(
 	array(