smart_outline fails on Python files after clean marketplace install on Windows 11 (tree-sitter missing in v12.1.0 install)

[mon9080]

Problem

After a clean uninstall/reinstall of claude-mem@thedotmack from the Claude Code plugin marketplace on Windows 11, the memory MCP tools load, but smart_outline fails on non-empty Python files with:

Could not parse <file>. File may use an unsupported language or be empty.

This reproduces after a clean reinstall of v12.1.0.

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Environment

• Windows 11 Pro 10.0.26200
• Claude Code 2.1.97.2a3
• claude-mem 12.1.0
• Install source: Claude Code plugin marketplace
• Node.js v24.13.0

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What works

• plugin installs successfully
• plugin is enabled
• MCP tools are visible
• search(...) works
• timeline(...) works

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What fails

smart_outline(...) fails on non-empty Python files like:

• ww-memory/memory_core/binding.py
• ww-memory/memory_core/io_utils.py
• ww-memory/memory_core/long_term_runtime.py

Response:

Could not parse <file>. File may use an unsupported language or be empty.

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Clean reinstall reproduction

claude plugins uninstall "claude-mem@thedotmack"
claude plugins install "claude-mem@thedotmack"
npm ls tree-sitter --prefix "C:/Users/<user>/.claude/plugins/cache/thedotmack/claude-mem/12.1.0"

Result:

claude-mem-plugin@12.1.0
`-- (empty)

So after a clean marketplace install, the plugin has grammar packages like tree-sitter-python, but the root tree-sitter runtime package is missing.

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Additional note

I also tested manual recovery on Node 24. Installing tree-sitter@0.25.0 required patching its binding.gyp from C++17 to C++20 because Node 24 headers require C++20.

That may be a second issue, but the first issue seems simpler:

clean marketplace install of v12.1.0 leaves smart-explore without the required tree-sitter runtime.

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Expected

After a clean marketplace install of claude-mem@12.1.0, smart_outline should work on bundled languages like Python without manual dependency patching.

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Actual

• install succeeds
• MCP loads
• search/timeline work
• smart-explore parse tools fail
• tree-sitter runtime is missing after clean install

I can provide npm logs / Windows build logs if helpful.

[github-actions]

A user reported an issue with the claude-mem@thedotmack plugin version 12.1.0 installed from the Claude Code plugin marketplace on Windows 11. While the plugin installs successfully and most features work (e.g., search and timeline), the smart_outline functionality fails to parse non-empty Python files, returning an error indicating unsupported language or empty file. Upon investigation, it appears the root tree-sitter runtime package is missing from the plugin directory after a clean installation, despite grammar packages like tree-sitter-python being present. The issue persists across multiple reinstalls and requires manual intervention—installing tree-sitter@0.25.0 and patching its binding.gyp file to compile under Node.js v24 headers with C++20. The user requests resolution of this dependency issue so that smart_outline works out-of-the-box after a clean install of the plugin.

[thedotmack]

Closed during the April 2026 backlog cleanup. The underlying bug is now tracked in #1930, which is the single canonical issue being addressed by the maintainer. Thanks for taking the time to report — your symptoms and repro are captured in the consolidated ticket.