Use nodenv to pick a Node version for your application and guarantee that your development environment matches production. Put nodenv to work with npm for painless Node upgrades and bulletproof deployments.
Powerful in development. Specify your app's Node version once, in a single file. Keep all your teammates on the same page. No headaches running apps on different versions of Node. Just Works™ from the command line. Override the Node version anytime: just set an environment variable.
Rock-solid in production. Your application's executables are its
interface with ops. With nodenv and you'll never again need to cd
in a cron job or Chef recipe to ensure you've selected the right runtime.
The Node version dependency lives in one place—your app—so upgrades and
rollbacks are atomic, even when you switch versions.
One thing well. nodenv is concerned solely with switching Node versions. It's simple and predictable. A rich plugin ecosystem lets you tailor it to suit your needs. Compile your own Node versions, or use the node-build plugin to automate the process. Specify per-application environment variables with nodenv-vars. See more plugins on the wiki.
At a high level, nodenv intercepts Node commands using shim
executables injected into your PATH, determines which Node version
has been specified by your application, and passes your commands along
to the correct Node installation.
When you run a command like node or npm, your operating system
searches through a list of directories to find an executable file with
that name. This list of directories lives in an environment variable
called PATH, with each directory in the list separated by a colon:
/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
Directories in PATH are searched from left to right, so a matching
executable in a directory at the beginning of the list takes
precedence over another one at the end. In this example, the
/usr/local/bin directory will be searched first, then /usr/bin,
then /bin.
nodenv works by inserting a directory of shims at the front of your
PATH:
~/.nodenv/shims:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
Through a process called rehashing, nodenv maintains shims in that
directory to match every Node command across every installed version
of Node—node, npm, and so on.
Shims are lightweight executables that simply pass your command along
to nodenv. So with nodenv installed, when you run, say, npm, your
operating system will do the following:
- Search your
PATHfor an executable file namednpm - Find the nodenv shim named
npmat the beginning of yourPATH - Run the shim named
npm, which in turn passes the command along to nodenv
When you execute a shim, nodenv determines which Node version to use by reading it from the following sources, in this order:
-
The
NODENV_VERSIONenvironment variable, if specified. You can use thenodenv shellcommand to set this environment variable in your current shell session. -
The first
.node-versionfile found by searching the directory of the script you are executing and each of its parent directories until reaching the root of your filesystem. -
The first
.node-versionfile found by searching the current working directory and each of its parent directories until reaching the root of your filesystem. You can modify the.node-versionfile in the current working directory with thenodenv localcommand. -
The global
~/.nodenv/versionfile. You can modify this file using thenodenv globalcommand. If the global version file is not present, nodenv assumes you want to use the "system" Node—i.e. whatever version would be run if nodenv weren't in your path.
Once nodenv has determined which version of Node your application has specified, it passes the command along to the corresponding Node installation.
Each Node version is installed into its own directory under
~/.nodenv/versions. For example, you might have these versions
installed:
~/.nodenv/versions/0.10.36/~/.nodenv/versions/0.12.0/~/.nodenv/versions/iojs-1.0.0/
Version names to nodenv are simply the names of the directories or symlinks in
~/.nodenv/versions.
-
Install nodenv using one of the following approaches.
On macOS or Linux, we recommend installing nodenv with Homebrew.
brew install nodenv
Presently,
nodenvis not available in the Debian or Ubuntu package repositories. Consider contributing!Archlinux has an AUR Package for nodenv and you can install it from the AUR using the instructions from this wiki page.
-
Set up nodenv in your shell.
nodenv init
Follow the printed instructions to set up nodenv shell integration.
-
Close your Terminal window and open a new one so your changes take effect.
-
Verify that nodenv is properly set up using this nodenv-doctor script:
curl -fsSL https://github.com/nodenv/nodenv-installer/raw/main/bin/nodenv-doctor | bashChecking for `nodenv' in PATH: /usr/local/bin/nodenv Checking for nodenv shims in PATH: OK Checking `nodenv install' support: /usr/local/bin/nodenv-install (node-build 3.0.22-4-g49c4cb9) Counting installed Node versions: none There aren't any Node versions installed under `~/.nodenv/versions'. You can install Node versions like so: nodenv install 2.2.4 Auditing installed plugins: OK
-
That's it! Installing nodenv includes node-build, so now you're ready to install some Node versions using
nodenv install.
For a more automated install, you can use nodenv-installer. If you prefer a manual approach, follow the steps below.
This will get you going with the latest version of nodenv without needing a systemwide install.
-
Clone nodenv into
~/.nodenv.git clone https://github.com/nodenv/nodenv.git ~/.nodenvOptionally, try to compile dynamic bash extension to speed up nodenv. Don't worry if it fails; nodenv will still work normally:
cd ~/.nodenv && src/configure && make -C src
-
Add
~/.nodenv/binto your$PATHfor access to thenodenvcommand-line utility.-
For bash:
Ubuntu Desktop users should configure
~/.bashrc:echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.nodenv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
On other platforms, bash is usually configured via
~/.bash_profile:echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.nodenv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bash_profile
-
For Zsh:
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.nodenv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
-
For Fish shell:
set -Ux fish_user_paths $HOME/.nodenv/bin $fish_user_paths
-
-
Set up nodenv in your shell.
~/.nodenv/bin/nodenv initFollow the printed instructions to set up nodenv shell integration.
-
Restart your shell so that PATH changes take effect. (Opening a new terminal tab will usually do it.)
-
Verify that nodenv is properly set up using this nodenv-doctor script:
curl -fsSL https://github.com/nodenv/nodenv-installer/raw/main/bin/nodenv-doctor | bashChecking for `nodenv' in PATH: /usr/local/bin/nodenv Checking for nodenv shims in PATH: OK Checking `nodenv install' support: /usr/local/bin/nodenv-install (node-build 3.0.22-4-g49c4cb9) Counting installed Node versions: none There aren't any Node versions installed under `~/.nodenv/versions'. You can install Node versions like so: nodenv install 2.2.4 Auditing installed plugins: OK
-
(Optional) Install node-build, which provides the
nodenv installcommand that simplifies the process of installing new Node versions.
If you've installed nodenv manually using Git, you can upgrade to the latest version by pulling from GitHub:
cd ~/.nodenv
git pullTo use a specific release of nodenv, check out the corresponding tag:
$ cd ~/.nodenv
$ git fetch
$ git checkout v0.3.0Alternatively, check out the nodenv-update plugin which provides a command to update nodenv along with all installed plugins.
$ nodenv updateIf you're using the nodenv install command, then the list of available Node versions is not automatically updated when pulling from the nodenv repo.
To do this manually:
cd ~/.nodenv/plugins/node-build
git pullSkip this section unless you must know what every line in your shell profile is doing.
nodenv init is the only command that crosses the line of loading
extra commands into your shell. Here's what nodenv init actually does:
-
Sets up your shims path. This is the only requirement for nodenv to function properly. You can do this by hand by prepending
~/.nodenv/shimsto your$PATH. -
Installs autocompletion. This is entirely optional but pretty useful. Sourcing
~/.nodenv/completions/nodenv.bashwill set that up. There is also a~/.nodenv/completions/nodenv.zshfor Zsh users. -
Rehashes shims. From time to time you'll need to rebuild your shim files. Doing this automatically makes sure everything is up to date. You can always run
nodenv rehashmanually. -
Installs the sh dispatcher. This bit is also optional, but allows nodenv and plugins to change variables in your current shell, making commands like
nodenv shellpossible. The sh dispatcher doesn't do anything invasive like overridecdor hack your shell prompt, but if for some reason you neednodenvto be a real script rather than a shell function, you can safely skip it.
Run nodenv init - for yourself to see exactly what happens under the
hood.
The nodenv install command doesn't ship with nodenv out of the box, but is
provided by the node-build project. If you installed it as part of GitHub
checkout process outlined above you should be able to:
# list latest stable versions:
nodenv install -l
# list all local versions:
nodenv install -L
# install a Node version:
nodenv install 16.13.2Set a Node version to finish installation and start using commands nodenv global 18.14.1 or nodenv local 18.14.1
Alternatively to the install command, you can download and compile
Node manually as a subdirectory of ~/.nodenv/versions/. An entry in
that directory can also be a symlink to a Node version installed
elsewhere on the filesystem. nodenv doesn't care; it will simply treat
any entry in the versions/ directory as a separate Node version.
Additionally, nodenv has special support for an lts/ subdirectory inside
versions/. This works great with the
nodenv-aliases plugin, for example:
cd ~/.nodenv/versions
mkdir lts
# Create a symlink that allows to use "lts/erbium" as a nodenv version
# that always points to the latest Node 12 version that is installed.
ln -s ../12 lts/erbiumAs time goes on, Node versions you install will accumulate in your
~/.nodenv/versions directory.
To remove old Node versions, simply rm -rf the directory of the
version you want to remove. You can find the directory of a particular
Node version with the nodenv prefix command, e.g. nodenv prefix 0.8.22.
The node-build plugin provides an nodenv uninstall command to
automate the removal process.
The simplicity of nodenv makes it easy to temporarily disable it, or uninstall from the system.
-
To disable nodenv managing your Node versions, simply remove the
nodenv initline from your shell startup configuration. This will remove nodenv shims directory from$PATH, and future invocations likenodewill execute the system Node version, as before nodenv.While disabled,
nodenvwill still be accessible on the command line, but your Node apps won't be affected by version switching. -
To completely uninstall nodenv, perform step (1) and then remove its root directory. This will delete all Node versions that were installed under
`nodenv root`/versions/directory:rm -rf `nodenv root`If you've installed nodenv using a package manager, as a final step perform the nodenv package removal:
- Homebrew:
brew uninstall nodenv - Archlinux and its derivatives:
sudo pacman -R nodenv
- Homebrew:
Like git, the nodenv command delegates to subcommands based on its
first argument. The most common subcommands are:
Sets a local application-specific Node version by writing the version
name to a .node-version file in the current directory. This version
overrides the global version, and can be overridden itself by setting
the NODENV_VERSION environment variable or with the nodenv shell
command.
nodenv local 0.10.0
When run without a version number, nodenv local reports the currently
configured local version. You can also unset the local version:
nodenv local --unset
Sets the global version of Node to be used in all shells by writing
the version name to the ~/.nodenv/version file. This version can be
overridden by an application-specific .node-version file, or by
setting the NODENV_VERSION environment variable.
nodenv global 0.10.26
The special version name system tells nodenv to use the system Node
(detected by searching your $PATH).
When run without a version number, nodenv global reports the
currently configured global version.
Sets a shell-specific Node version by setting the NODENV_VERSION
environment variable in your shell. This version overrides
application-specific versions and the global version.
nodenv shell 0.11.11
When run without a version number, nodenv shell reports the current
value of NODENV_VERSION. You can also unset the shell version:
nodenv shell --unset
Note that you'll need nodenv's shell integration enabled (step 3 of
the installation instructions) in order to use this command. If you
prefer not to use shell integration, you may simply set the
NODENV_VERSION variable yourself:
export NODENV_VERSION=0.10.26
Lists all Node versions known to nodenv, and shows an asterisk next to the currently active version.
$ nodenv versions
0.8.22
0.9.12
* 0.10.0 (set by /Users/will/.nodenv/version)
This will also list symlinks to specific Node versions inside the ~/.nodenv/versions or ~/.nodenv/versions/lts directories.
Displays the currently active Node version, along with information on how it was set.
$ nodenv version
0.10.0 (set by /Users/OiNutter/.nodenv/version)
Installs shims for all Node executables known to nodenv (i.e.,
~/.nodenv/versions/*/bin/* and ~/.nodenv/versions/lts/*/bin/*). Run this command after you install a new
version of Node, or install an npm package that provides an executable binary.
$ nodenv rehash
note: the package-rehash plugin automatically runs nodenv rehash whenever an npm package is installed globally
Displays the full path to the executable that nodenv will invoke when you run the given command.
$ nodenv which npm
/Users/will/.nodenv/versions/0.10.26/bin/npm
Lists all Node versions with the given command installed.
$ nodenv whence npm
0.10.0
0.9.12
0.8.22
You can affect how nodenv operates with the following settings:
| name | default | description |
|---|---|---|
NODENV_VERSION |
Specifies the Node version to be used. Also see nodenv shell |
|
NODENV_ROOT |
~/.nodenv |
Defines the directory under which Node versions and shims reside. Also see nodenv root |
NODENV_DEBUG |
Outputs debug information. Also as: nodenv --debug <subcommand> |
|
NODENV_HOOK_PATH |
see wiki | Colon-separated list of paths searched for nodenv hooks. |
NODENV_DIR |
$PWD |
Directory to start searching for .node-version files. |
The nodenv source code is hosted on GitHub. It's clean, modular, and easy to understand, even if you're not a shell hacker.
Tests are executed using Bats:
$ bats test
$ bats test/<file>.bats
Please feel free to submit pull requests and file bugs on the issue tracker.
Forked from Sam Stephenson's rbenv by Will McKenzie and modified for node.
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