Fix · Node, npm and build

error:0308010C:digital envelope routines (ERR_OSSL_EVP_UNSUPPORTED)

What you may see

An older project fails to start on a new Node

Most likely cause

An old build tool uses a hashing method that new Node versions switched off.

Check first (about two minutes)

Run node -v: is it a new version (17 or higher) with an old project?

The fix prompt

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The exact error or what you see

What you did before it happened

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Prompt language

You are a patient senior engineer who knows Node.js, npm and build tools and explains them to people who are not developers. I am not a developer, so explain every step in plain words and tell me exactly which button, menu or command you mean. If you are not sure about something, say so; do not guess.

THE PROBLEM
error:0308010C:digital envelope routines (ERR_OSSL_EVP_UNSUPPORTED)

THE EXACT ERROR OR WHAT I SEE
[paste the exact error here]

WHAT I DID BEFORE IT HAPPENED
[write in a few words what you did before it happened]

MOST LIKELY CAUSE
An old build tool uses a hashing method that new Node versions switched off.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Check the age of the build tool in package.json (old webpack or react-scripts).
2. Best fix: upgrade the build tool to a current version, with my approval and a test. Quick fix for now: run with the older Node version the project was built for.
3. Only as a last resort explain the legacy option and its risk.
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- The project builds on the chosen Node version.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not rewrite the project to a new framework.
- Anything I did not ask about: the design, the text, other pages, other settings or the data.
- Do not delete files, data or branches, do not reset or force-push, and do not rewrite history, unless you first show me exactly what would be lost and I say yes.
- Do not paste, print or ask me to paste a password or secret key into this chat. If one is needed, tell me which settings page of the right service to store it in.

WHEN YOU FINISH
Explain in simple words what you changed (file by file or setting by setting), why you changed it, and how I can undo it.

Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Cursor, then follow what it says.

After you tried it, did it work?

Steps

Check the age of the build tool in package.json (old webpack or react-scripts).
Best fix: upgrade the build tool to a current version, with my approval and a test. Quick fix for now: run with the older Node version the project was built for.
Only as a last resort explain the legacy option and its risk.

Do not do this

Do not leave the legacy flag in production scripts forever.
Do not rewrite the project to a new framework.

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