TL;DR: graceful-fs version 3 reaches into Node's private internals, which were removed in Node 12 and later, so upgrading Node breaks every copy of graceful-fs@3 in the tree. Find which dependency drags it in with npm ls graceful-fs and upgrade that dependency to a version using graceful-fs@4. If the dependent is abandoned, pin graceful-fs to v4 with an override.

```text
ReferenceError: primordials is not defined
```

1. Find the carrier: `npm ls graceful-fs`.
   Expected: the output shows the dependency chain, ending at graceful-fs@3 under some top-level package.
2. Identify the top-level package responsible for the graceful-fs@3 copy.
   Expected: you can name the package to upgrade (the classic carrier is gulp 3).
3. Upgrade that package to a release that depends on graceful-fs@4 (or run `npm update graceful-fs` if it is a direct dependency).
   Expected: `npm ls graceful-fs` now shows only v4 copies.
4. If the carrying package is abandoned and has no fixed release, add an npm override pinning graceful-fs to ^4.
   Expected: a fresh install resolves graceful-fs@4 everywhere the override applies.
5. Re-run the build or test that failed.
   Expected: no primordials error; the tool runs on the new Node version.

## Use this when
- Node was just upgraded and the exact "primordials is not defined" error appears.
- The stack trace mentions graceful-fs or the natives module.
- `npm ls graceful-fs` shows a v3 copy anywhere in the tree.

## Not for this skill when
- The "is not defined" error names something else entirely; that is a different bug.
- graceful-fs is already v4 everywhere; the problem lies elsewhere.
- The Node version is older than what the toolchain supports; upgrade Node instead.

## Variant phrasings
- "ReferenceError primordials is not defined gulp"
- "graceful-fs primordials node upgrade"
- "primordials is not defined after node 14 upgrade"
- "natives module primordials error"

## Why it happens
graceful-fs@3 monkey-patched Node's internal modules to work around old filesystem bugs, referencing private bindings through the natives module. Node 12 removed those internals, so any transitive graceful-fs@3 throws the moment it loads. The fix is always at the dependency that drags it in, because application code never requires graceful-fs directly.

## Edge cases
- gulp 3 is the most common carrier and cannot run on modern Node at all; upgrading to gulp 4 is the real fix, not just the graceful-fs pin.
- Yarn uses a resolutions field and pnpm its own overrides syntax; the mechanism differs but the pin target is the same.
- After changing the tree, native modules may need a rebuild against the new Node version.
- Check for nested copies: one upgraded top-level package can still leave a v3 copy under a different parent.

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_7yaj4astRbUYc9x3um_oAA