Error: spawn wmic.exe ENOENT on Windows Server 2025

[MikeMcC399]

• This is a companion issue to ps-tree on Windows 11 24H2 crashes - wmic not part of windows any more #58 for Windows Server 2025.

ps-tree has a dependency on the deprecated Windows Management Instrumentation command-line (WMIC) utility

Issue

ps-tree fails under GitHub Actions windows-2025 with the error

Error: spawn wmic.exe ENOENT

ps-tree depends on wmic.

For Microsoft Windows Servers, wmic has been deprecated since 2016 and it is not installed by default on Windows Server 2025 (see Features we're no longer developing).

The GitHub Actions runner image windows-2025, currently in beta status, does not include WMIC. (See Windows Server 2025 is now in public preview).

Steps to reproduce

Run the following workflow in this repo in GitHub Actions

name: ci-test
on: [push, pull_request, workflow_dispatch]

jobs:

  ps-tree-ci:
    strategy:
      fail-fast: false
      matrix:
        node: [22]
        os: [windows-2025]
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
    steps:
      - name: Setup Node
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: ${{ matrix.node }}
      - run: node -v
      - run: npm -v
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test
      - run: npm run coverage

Logs

Run npm test

> [email protected] test
> istanbul cover node_modules/tape/bin/tape test/test.js

TAP version 13
# Spawn a Parent process which has ten Child processes
=============================================================================
Writing coverage object [D:\a\ps-tree\ps-tree\coverage\coverage.json]
Writing coverage reports at [D:\a\ps-tree\ps-tree\coverage]
=============================================================================

=============================== Coverage summary ===============================
Statements   : 27.5% ( 11/40 )
Branches     : 16.67% ( 3/18 )
Functions    : 20% ( 1/5 )
Lines        : 27.5% ( 11/40 )
================================================================================
node:events:502
      throw er; // Unhandled 'error' event
      ^

Error: spawn wmic.exe ENOENT
    at ChildProcess._handle.onexit (node:internal/child_process:285:19)
    at onErrorNT (node:internal/child_process:483:16)
    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:90:21)
Emitted 'error' event on ChildProcess instance at:
    at ChildProcess._handle.onexit (node:internal/child_process:291:12)
    at onErrorNT (node:internal/child_process:483:16)
    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:90:21) {
  errno: -4058,
  code: 'ENOENT',
  syscall: 'spawn wmic.exe',
  path: 'wmic.exe',
  spawnargs: [ 'PROCESS', 'GET', 'Name,ProcessId,ParentProcessId,Status' ]
}

Node.js v22.12.0
Error: Process completed with exit code 1.

[colin969]

wmic was deprecated a while ago, it's been completely removed from the latest Windows update. This issue will already present itself on regular users machines.

[MikeMcC399]

@colin969

wmic was deprecated a while ago, it's been completely removed from the latest Windows update. This issue will already present itself on regular users machines.

• Which exact Windows operating system are you referring to? This issue is specifically about Windows Server 2025, which is not usually a "regular user's machine".

• If you are referring to Windows desktop (not Windows Server), then the issue for this is ps-tree on Windows 11 24H2 crashes - wmic not part of windows any more #58

[colin969]

Yes, my comments would refer to 24H2.

Admittedly not sure why they're separate issues when they're the exact same problem though, the removal of wmic.exe.

[MikeMcC399]

@colin969

Yes, my comments would refer to 24H2.

Admittedly not sure why they're separate issues when they're the exact same problem though, the removal of wmic.exe.

The underlying issue is the same across Windows desktop and Windows Server operating systems, and the separate GitHub issues could be combined.

• For the GitHub-hosted runner image windows-2025 I don't know if there is any practical workaround (see Windows Server 2025 is now available actions/runner-images#11228 (comment)).

• For Windows 11 24H2, it is possible to work around the issue by adding the WMIC Feature on Demand, using the following command executed in a Windows admin terminal:

  DISM /Online /Add-Capability /CapabilityName:WMIC~~~~