Bug: Windows compatibility issue: rm -rf command not available on Windows

[tayyab3245]

Description

The AI SDK codebase contains 41+ packages that use Unix-specific rm -rf commands in their package.json clean scripts, causing build failures on Windows systems.

Root Cause

All packages use this pattern in their package.json:

"clean": "rm -rf dist *.tsbuildinfo"

On Windows, rm is not a recognized command, causing:

'rm' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

Reproduction Steps

1. Clone the AI SDK repository on a Windows machine
2. Run npm install or pnpm install to install dependencies
3. Run npm run test from the root directory
4. Build fails at the first package requiring a clean step

Expected behavior: Tests run successfully across all packages
Actual behavior: Build fails with 'rm' is not recognized error

Affected Packages

At least 41 packages are affected, including:

• @ai-sdk/provider
• @ai-sdk/anthropic
• @ai-sdk/openai
• @ai-sdk/react
• @ai-sdk/vue
• @ai-sdk/svelte
• @ai-sdk/angular
• And 34+ other packages in the monorepo

Environment

• Operating System: Windows 10/11
• Shell: PowerShell/Command Prompt
• Node.js: Any version
• Package Manager: npm/pnpm

Error Output

> @ai-sdk/provider@2.0.0 clean
> rm -rf dist *.tsbuildinfo

'rm' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
 ELIFECYCLE  Command failed with exit code 1.

Proposed Solutions

The issue can be resolved by replacing rm -rf commands with cross-platform alternatives:

Option 1: Use del-cli (Recommended)

"clean": "del-cli dist *.tsbuildinfo"

Option 2: Use rimraf

"clean": "rimraf dist *.tsbuildinfo"

Option 3: Native Node.js solution

"clean": "node -e \"require('fs').rmSync('dist', {recursive: true, force: true})\""

Impact

• Contributors: Windows developers cannot run the full test suite
• CI/CD: Potential build failures on Windows runners
• Development Experience: Inconsistent cross-platform behavior blocks Windows contributor onboarding

This affects the build pipeline and testing workflow, potentially impacting contributor onboarding and CI reliability on Windows environments.

AI SDK Version

Affected versions include the latest releases:

• ai: 4.1.2+
• @ai-sdk/provider: 2.0.0+
• @ai-sdk/anthropic: 2.0.0+
• @ai-sdk/openai: 1.0.0+
• @ai-sdk/react: 2.0.0+
• All packages in the monorepo that use rm -rf in clean scripts

Code of Conduct

• I agree to follow this project's Code of Conduct

[gr2m]

Thank you for trying to contribute to the AI SDK, and for sharing the problems you encountered!

Option 1: Use del-cli (Recommended)

"clean": "del-cli dist *.tsbuildinfo"

I agree, let's go with that. Would you like to send another pull request for this?

[tayyab3245]

Hi @gr2m,

I've submitted the Pull Request with the del-cli fix as: #8497

This replaces all rm -rf scripts across the monorepo to resolve the build/test failures on Windows. Please take a look when you have the time.