How to build the linux Desktop wallet for the Steem blockchain Vessel from source code

I had installed npm from source. As I recall my distribution's version of npm was old or just absent or perhaps it didn't have the package name I expected (like with snapd). Anyway, I issued the following command:
sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y snapd

I added node_modules/.bin to the end of the PATH variable.
After waiting a long time while getting ready for a party, I found it finally finished but the other task that I was waiting for had not yet finished. So, I issued the following command line:
npm install n && n latest && npm i yarn && yarn install && npm run package-linux && cd release && sudo dpg -i vessel*.deb

I left out the '-g' so I can later remove everything needed by vessel and test installs with fewer packages. If I can get a 32-bit installer built, I want to proceed to see if I can eliminate packages from the dependencies that are only for the development of vessel but not required for making its package or running it like I described earlier.

I mispelt dpkg. Of course things didn't work out. I see an error at the end but I it is not "command not found". The error is:

npm WARN [email protected] requires a peer of eslint@>=4.0.0 but none is installed. You must install peer dependencies yourself.
npm WARN [email protected] requires a peer of flow-bin@>=0.57.3 but none is installed. You must install peer dependencies yourself.
npm WARN optional SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: [email protected] (node_modules/7zip-bin-win):
npm WARN notsup SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: Unsupported platform for [email protected]: wanted {"os":"win32","arch":"any"} (current: {"os":"linux","arch":"ia32"})
npm WARN optional SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: [email protected] (node_modules/7zip-bin-mac):
npm WARN notsup SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: Unsupported platform for [email protected]: wanted {"os":"darwin","arch":"any"} (current: {"os":"linux","arch":"ia32"})
npm WARN optional SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: [email protected] (node_modules/fsevents):
npm WARN notsup SKIPPING OPTIONAL DEPENDENCY: Unsupported platform for [email protected]: wanted {"os":"darwin","arch":"any"} (current: {"os":"linux","arch":"ia32"})

+ [email protected]
added 1 package in 137.442s

  Error: invalid version 

Using which n, I see n was installed and running which yarn, I see yarn was not installed.

I am going to try it without running n latest. I know npm is already the newest stable version on this old computer I am using. I should probably take this computer to a kindergarten because she is old enough to start that.

Now, if the yarn command is in the 'devEngines', I guess that means it is supposed to install yarn automatically. It doesn't. I did some searching and I found users of npm are disappointed that things found in "devdependencies" were not getting installed before running the install scripts. There seems to be a big disconnect between the developers of npmitself and the developers that use npm (us).

I am going to try this now:
npm --save-prod yarn && yarn install && npm run package-linux

Edit
The result of the above command was:

No native production dependencies
Packaging for linux ia32 using electron 1.7.8 to release/linux-ia32-unpacked

... and 1 more
Building Snap for arch ia32
Error: spawn snapcraft ENOENT
    at _errnoException (util.js:1024:11)
    at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:190:19)
    at onErrorNT (internal/child_process.js:372:16)
    at _combinedTickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:138:11)
    at process._tickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:180:9)
From previous event:
    at spawn (/home/alumno/development/vessel/node_modules/builder-util/src/util.ts:183:3)
    at /home/alumno/development/vessel/node_modules/electron-builder-lib/src/targets/snap.ts:117:13
    at Generator.next (<anonymous>)
    at /home/alumno/development/vessel/node_modules/graceful-fs/graceful-fs.js:99:16
    at /home/alumno/development/vessel/node_modules/graceful-fs/graceful-fs.js:43:10
    at FSReqWrap.oncomplete (fs.js:135:15)

... etc

Now, I had only moved nearly all packages from "devdependencies" to "dependencies". This was necessary because many of the modules needed for the "install" process were in devdependencies and those listed in devdependencies were not being installed before running the scripts named in "install".

It seems to me that a user shouldn't need to install npm packages manually. The package contains a file that lists all of dependencies. The dependencies should be installed automatically. Maybe that is part of that "disconnect" I referred to earlier.