docs: remove node-gyp contributor workarounds / restrictions

[MikeMcC399]

• Follows on from PR dependency: update @electron/rebuild to 3.7.1 #30633

Additional details

This PR addresses documentation changes following the merge of PR #30633, which updated @electron/[email protected] to @electron/[email protected] in packages/server in the release/14.0.0 branch.

The update allows [email protected] to be used, with cascading restrictions relieved:

1. The default Python 3.12 version of Ubuntu 24.* can be used.
2. On Ubuntu 24.04 no downgrading to Python 3.11 necessary.
3. Allows use of Ubuntu 24.10. (Downgrading Python on Ubuntu 24.10 is not available)
4. On Windows no need to install a Windows 10 SDK additionally.

Building Cypress from source is then possible, without errors from node-gyp and without resorting to these workarounds.

Corresponding workaround instructions and restrictions are removed from CONTRIBUTING > Requirements.

Steps to test

Follow the modified instructions in CONTRIBUTING > Requirements for Cypress 14 beta, including the use of Node.js v20.18.0.

git clone https://github.com/cypress-io/cypress
cd cypress
git switch release/14.0.0
n auto # or set Node.js manually to 20.18.0
git clean -xfd
yarn

Confirm that the installation was successful and that the following log sequence shows no errors between the steps:

[5/6] Building fresh packages...
[6/6] Cleaning modules...

Remove any workarounds previously installed, which are no longer part of the updated CONTRIBUTING > Requirements instructions, as follows:

Ubuntu 24.04

If the system has been previously set up for Python 3.11, then execute the following before running yarn:

unset NODE_GYP_FORCE_PYTHON

Ubuntu 24.10

Python 3.11 is not available for Ubuntu 24.10, so no special preparatory steps are necessary.

Windows 11

In Visual Studio Installer remove any Windows 10 SDK installed. Install Python 3.12 through Microsoft Store.

• Ignore errors from issue snapshot generation warnings on Windows #28739

Confirm that the error "could not find a version of Visual Studio 2017 or newer to use" no longer occurs.

How has the user experience changed?

This issue affects contributors only. Contributor instructions are changed for Ubuntu and Windows.

PR Tasks

• [na] Have tests been added/updated?
• [na] Has a PR for user-facing changes been opened in cypress-documentation?
• [na] Have API changes been updated in the type definitions?

[cypress-app-bot]

• Create a Draft Pull Request if your PR is not ready for review. Mark the PR as Ready for Review when you're ready for a Cypress team member to review the PR.

[MikeMcC399]

Submitted as draft and waiting for the develop branch to be merged into the release/14.0.0 branch which will then need some minor conflicts resolving in this PR.

[jennifer-shehane]

Nice, a bit less confusing now.

[MikeMcC399]

@jennifer-shehane

Nice, a bit less confusing now.

Yes, it's much simpler without having to apply all the workarounds 🙂