744

What might be causing the error Error: EACCES: permission denied, access '/usr/local/lib/node_modules'?

npm ERR! path /usr/local/lib/node_modules
npm ERR! code EACCES
npm ERR! errno -13
npm ERR! syscall access
npm ERR! Error: EACCES: permission denied, access '/usr/local/lib/node_modules'
npm ERR!  { Error: EACCES: permission denied, access '/usr/local/lib/node_modules'
npm ERR!   errno: -13,
npm ERR!   code: 'EACCES',
npm ERR!   syscall: 'access',
npm ERR!   path: '/usr/local/lib/node_modules' }
npm ERR! 
npm ERR! Please try running this command again as root/Administrator.

npm ERR! A complete log of this run can be found in:
npm ERR!     /Users/macbookmd101/.npm/_logs/2018-02-21T16_26_08_421Z-debug.log
2
  • 30
    See the official guide by NPM on how to resolve this: docs.npmjs.com/…
    – Dzhuneyt
    Commented Apr 10, 2019 at 18:10
  • Could you change the selected right response? It is completely wrong (even with nearly 1K votes) and dangerous as well. People copy&paste without knowing what they are really doing so don't lead them to mess up the system. Commented Sep 20, 2022 at 6:49

43 Answers 43

1141

Change your file permissions... Like this

First check who owns the directory

ls -la /usr/local/lib/node_modules

it is denying access because the node_module folder is owned by root

drwxr-xr-x   3 root    wheel  102 Jun 24 23:24 node_modules

so this needs to be changed by changing root to your user but first run command below to check your current user How do I get the name of the active user via the command line in OS X?

id -un OR whoami

Then change owner

sudo chown -R [owner]:[owner] /usr/local/lib/node_modules

OR

sudo chown -R ownerName: /usr/local/lib/node_modules

OR

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/node_modules
24
  • 10
    There were cases when adding sudo in command also did not worked. This worked for me and should be accepted answer.
    – Niroj Shr
    Commented Dec 5, 2018 at 5:01
  • 73
    This was helpful but when I run the command to change the owner I got illegal group name. So I changed the command to sudo chown -R ownerName: /usr/local/lib/node_modules and it worked.
    – Midori
    Commented Mar 18, 2019 at 7:51
  • 9
    Although thats the right answer, I have encountered this issue multiple times and the better solution is to use nvm. this way you won't need to change files owner using chown. github.com/nvm-sh/nvm
    – Roee
    Commented Jul 23, 2019 at 9:01
  • 7
    Instead of chaning the permission, its recommended in the docs to install npm with nvm. See stackoverflow.com/a/59575266/2311074
    – Adam
    Commented Jan 3, 2020 at 8:31
  • 42
    **STOP**🛑 Do stackoverflow.com/a/55274930/234110 instead of messing with permissions of /usr/local/lib/node_modules Commented Jul 22, 2021 at 15:33
549

To minimize the chance of permissions errors, you can configure npm to use a different directory. In this example, you will create and use a hidden directory in your home directory.

Back up your computer. On the command line, in your home directory, create a directory for global installations:

mkdir ~/.npm-global

Configure npm to use the new directory path:

npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'

In your preferred text editor, open or create the ~/.profile file and add this line:

export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH

On the command line, update your system variables:

source ~/.profile

To test your new configuration, install a package globally without using sudo.


Source: the NPM website.

10
  • 102
    This is the least destructive option in my opinion. It's also recommended in the npm website.
    – 17xande
    Commented Apr 28, 2019 at 19:23
  • 2
    Alternatively, if you don't want to do npm config set prefix (especially if you're writing a non-root installer), you might want to override the PREFIX env var or provide the --prefix option, both of which equivalent to npm config set prefix. (not sure which overrides which)
    – SOFe
    Commented Sep 16, 2019 at 2:26
  • 5
    This worked perfectly for me. In my opinion, this answer makes the least room for destructive errors and is very simple to understand and implement. Commented Oct 4, 2019 at 13:41
  • 3
    To create .profile type touch .profile. To then open it in mac type open .profile. And source ~/.profile is a command by itself. Commented Nov 8, 2021 at 9:12
  • 6
    if you're using zsh you can use ~/.zshrc instead of ~/.profile
    – Bn.F76
    Commented Apr 18, 2022 at 2:19
153

I tried the solution of the answer given by @okanda but it didn't work for me.

However it worked perfectly when I did it for several folders like mentioned in this thread: https://github.com/angular/angular-cli/issues/9676#issuecomment-464857493

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/
sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/bin/
sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/share/
3
  • I have in the output: dest: '/usr/local/bin/.npm-uJtxIR1m'. So should I chown /usr/local/bin because the .npm.. seems a dynamic file/folder?
    – Timo
    Commented Mar 5, 2021 at 9:15
  • ionicframework.com/docs/developing/… Commented Apr 14, 2021 at 20:23
  • straight forward. worked for me Commented Jul 30, 2023 at 9:01
92

All you need to do is to add USER to the owner of /local/lib

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib

EDIT :

To target precisely and only the node_modules folder, try using this command before using the previous one :

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/node_modules
12
  • 16
    If future readers do not understand permissions, then please refer to the official documentation NPM documentation and properly fix the issue. docs.npmjs.com/…. Specifically, future readers should probably reinstall npm with a node version manager (recommended) Commented Jun 21, 2019 at 2:17
  • 1
    This is pretty straight-forward. It also means you never need to worry about anything in lib again; you own /usr/local/lib. Commented Aug 6, 2019 at 8:47
  • 13
    This is not a good solution at all. By running above chown you are at high risk of destroying the permission structure of your entire filesystem.
    – Lars
    Commented Aug 11, 2019 at 16:16
  • 7
    This command ruined all of my permissions. Need to recover again all the things.
    – Azam Alvi
    Commented Sep 15, 2019 at 15:36
  • 11
    To be precise, this is not adding an owner. This is changing the owner, which is far more destructive than just adding, and is almost as destructive as sudo chmod -R 777 /.
    – SOFe
    Commented Sep 16, 2019 at 2:14
52

You can install npm through Node version manager or a Node installer. In the docs it states:

We do not recommend using a Node installer, since the Node installation process installs npm in a directory with local permissions and can cause permissions errors when you run npm packages globally.

NPM actually recommends using a Node Version Manager to avoid these errors.

Since you have the permission error, you probably installed npm through a Node installer and now you need to reinstalled it with a nvm (node version manager).

Luckily, this is very simple. You do not even need to remove your current version of npm or Node.js.

All you need to do is

  1. Install nvm. For OSX or Linux Node use:

     curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/<VERSION>/install.sh | bash
    

where <VERSION> should be replaced with the latest version

This creates a nvm folder in your home directory.

Then

  1. Install npm and node.js through nvm. To do so, just call

     nvm install node 
    

("node" is an alias for the latest version)

Now you can install your package globally without using sudo or changing the owner of node_modules in usr folder.

13
  • thanks for the answer Adam! just wondering what might be some possible complications later on in the build/environment set-up process? Commented Jan 4, 2020 at 8:26
  • 1
    Thanks! I noted that there is a new minor version of NVM, so I guess the command should be curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.35.3/install.sh | bash now. Also, I had to close and open Terminal to be able to run nvm install stable.
    – Johanna
    Commented Jul 27, 2020 at 22:25
  • 5
    This is the simplest and cleanest answer I've seen. It avoids messing around with folder permissions or forcing it through using "sudo". I think this should be the accepted answer. Thanks! Commented Mar 1, 2021 at 5:04
  • 1
    This resolved my problem regarding npm install -g mongodb-realm-cli when the same error as OP occurred.
    – Falnésio
    Commented Aug 8, 2021 at 22:07
  • 1
    Awesome! This should be the accepted answer!
    – DarkteK
    Commented Aug 28, 2021 at 15:23
49

try appending sudo before whatever command you are trying.

like this : sudo npm install

Using sudo with a command in Linux/UNIX generally elevates your permissions to superuser levels. In Windows, the superuser account is usually called 'Administrator.' In Linux/Unix the superuser account is generally named 'root'.

The root user has permission to access, modify or delete almost any file on your computer. Normal user accounts can access, modify or delete many fewer files. The restrictions on a normal account protect your computer from unauthorized or harmful programs or users. Some processes require you to perform actions on files or folders you don't normally have permissions to access. Installing a program that everyone can access is one of these actions.

In your case, running the installation command with sudo gives you the permissions of the superuser, and allows you to modify files that your normal user doesn't have permission to modify.

6
  • 84
    avoid using sudo while installing npm packages. The deeper you go with such path the harder it will be to fix it afterward. Just change permissions to npm folder as pointed in another answer and live a better life. Commented Oct 21, 2018 at 16:22
  • 2
    That may work but it will cause continuous issues over time. Avoid this if you don't want to get all kind of permission denied errors. Like denied to npm cache folder, denied to install and so on. Commented Feb 13, 2019 at 19:29
  • 1
    This answer should be removed as using sudo before installation of packages sets a very dangerous precedent if the user doesn't understand permissions. Please refer to the first answer in which you change ownership of core node location once. Commented Jun 12, 2019 at 20:33
  • or at least that's the standard illusion anyways... there are too many ways to gain root access from a user level that haven't been patched after many years, so it's safe to assume any malicious user with access to your machine can easily gain root access through any poorly secured application you have installed.
    – Tcll
    Commented Aug 24, 2020 at 11:28
  • ionicframework.com/docs/developing/… Commented Apr 14, 2021 at 20:24
34

If you are experiencing this problem on your Mac, Take the following steps First, use the command below to determine who owns this file.

ls -la /usr/local/lib/node_modules

You will find some files below, one of which is listed below.

drwxr-xr-x   3 root    wheel  768 May 29 02:21 node_modules

Have you noticed that the above file is owned by root? To make changes inside, you must change the path's ownership.

This command can be used to determine who the current user is.

id -un (in my case user is Yamsol)

and then you can change by calling this command (just replace your user name with ownerName)

sudo chown -R ownerName: /usr/local/lib/node_modules

in my case as you know the user is "yamsol" I will call this command this way

sudo chown -R yamsol: /usr/local/lib/node_modules

that's it.

1
  • it is possible to use $USER:$USER to avoid looking up for the user id
    – venimus
    Commented Feb 2, 2021 at 16:01
28

It looks like you're running into permission issues. If you are installing npm-packages then it might possible that you are getting an EACCES error when trying to install a package globally. This means you do not have permission to write to the directories npm uses to store global packages and commands.

Try running commands: sudo chmod u+x -R 775 ~/.npm and sudo chown $USER -R ~/.npm or you can just run any npm command with sudo, that should get resolve your issue.

If you are installing an npm-package locally, then you should be in your local project directory and can try running sudo npm install <pkg-name> command to install required package. the purpose of using sudo is that it will change your owner permissions so you can make your current user authorized to run npm commands.

I'd recommend you to take a look at https://docs.npmjs.com/getting-started/fixing-npm-permissions

25

While installing global packages in ubuntu, you need special write permissions as you are writing to the usr/bin folder. It is for security reasons. So, everytime you install a global package, use:

sudo npm install -g [package-name]

For your specific case, it will be:

sudo npm install -g typescript
22

Be careful with all responses that change the owner of all directories under /usr/local Basically, don't mess the Linux system!!!

Using sudo for your local stuff is a really bad recommendation as well.

The original link from www.competa.com is broken, so this is the original approach from there:

npm config set prefix ~/.npm

# open your .bashrc (Linux) or .bash_profile (Mac) file for editing:
nano ~/.bashrc # for Linux
# or...
nano ~/.bash_profile # for Mac if you haven't created a .bashrc file

# add these lines:
export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/npm/bin"
export NODE_PATH="$NODE_PATH:$HOME/npm/lib/node_modules"

# save the file and then enter this command or logout and login to make the changes take effect:
. ~/.bashrc
# or...
. ~/.bash_profile

Option B: Use a version manager like NVM

15

If it is still not working after giving permissions try running these commands:

mkdir ~/.npm-global

npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'

export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH

source ~/.profile

and finally test with this command

npm install -g jshint

This does not work for Windows.

1
  • If you follow this sequence then third line is non-permanent (will not work after restart) and fourth line is completely irrelevant and do nothing. Please see answer with most score for right solution. Commented Nov 27, 2020 at 12:55
12

I was trying to install react expo and apart from sudo I had to add --unsafe-perm

like this. This resolves my Issue

sudo npm install -g expo-cli --unsafe-perm
2
  • @Furquan, Thank you very much...It worked for me after trying different solutions.
    – AzeTech
    Commented Jun 28, 2019 at 9:34
  • @AzeTech, I am glad it helped :D
    – Furquan
    Commented Oct 11, 2019 at 9:49
9

Review this carefully:

https://ionicframework.com/docs/developing/tips#resolving-permission-errors

sudo chown -R $(whoami) /usr/local/{lib/node_modules,bin,share}
sudo chown -R $(whoami) ~/.npm ~/.npmrc
1
  • thank you, its the one comment that help me.
    – monti
    Commented Apr 22, 2021 at 17:22
8

Encountered in CentOS 8 stream

Solution

(1/4) Creating node_modules folder

$ sudo mkdir /usr/local/lib/node_modules

(2/4) Own with Current User

$ sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/node_modules/

(3/4) Own the bin folder

$ sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/bin/

(4/4) Own the share folder

$ sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/share/

7

For nvm users

sudo chown -R $USER /home/bereket/.nvm/versions/node/v8.9.1/lib/node_modules 

and

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/node_modules/

replace v8.9.1 with your node version you are using.

2
  • This does not worked for me! Still getting the error: npm ERR! Error: EACCES: permission denied, rename /home/samuel/.nvm/versions/node/v8.10.0/lib/node_modules/.staging/npm-90fab7c7/node_modules/columnify/node_modules/wcwidth/node_modules/defaults It appears to be something with /.staging ..that folder does not exist after the attempt of installation. Can you help me with that?
    – Samuel
    Commented Nov 27, 2019 at 19:53
  • @Samuel did u run this command ? sudo chown -R $USER home/samuel/.nvm/versions/node/v8.10.0/lib/node_modules Commented Nov 28, 2019 at 5:44
6

On my mac similar issue is coming while installing Ionic.

I run the command sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/ path you can update as given in error.

1
  • I was inside the folder so I just set this sudo chown -R $USER .
    – iYazee6
    Commented Nov 18, 2022 at 22:45
5

Seems like you tried to install a npm package globally rather than locally, as the man npm install describes:

The -g or --global argument will cause npm to install the package globally rather than locally.

Generally, when you are setting up a npm project (among many others that you could have), it's not a good idea to install packages on Node.js global modules (/usr/local/lib/node_modules), as your the debug log suggested.

Instead of using -g, use --save, which will automatically save the package as a dependency for your package.json file:

Like this:

$ npm install express-generator --save

$ cat package.json 
{
  "name": "first_app_generator",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
},
  "author": "ivanleoncz",
  "license": "MIT",
  "dependencies": {
    "express-generator": "^4.16.0"
  }
}

But as the other answers mentioned, if you're going to use -g, you have to use sudo (if your user has sudo privileges: see /etc/sudoers) when performing npm install express-generator -g, but indeed, it's not a good idea, possibly causing permission problems.

NOTICE

There are instructions for installing express-generator with -g option, in order to have the script express-cli.js available on the system path, but you can use the locally installed script as well, located at the node_modules if your npm project:

$ ./node_modules/express-generator/bin/express-cli.js --view=pug myapp

If a message like /usr/bin/env: ‘node’: No such file or directory shows up, install nodejs-legacy (Debian/Ubuntu)

IMHO, using -g (also using sudo) is like hic sunt dracones, if you are unsure of the consequences.

For further information:

5

I was able to fix the issue using the following in mac.

sudo npm install -g @aws-amplify/cli --unsafe-perm=true
1
  • 1
    WARNING: --unsafe-perm=true is a security risk and allows node to run as root
    – Tcll
    Commented Aug 24, 2020 at 11:56
5

This occurred as a result of npm not being able to access your global node_modules directory locally, running

sudo chown -R Name: /usr/local/lib/node_modules

e.g.

sudo chown -R developerayo: /usr/local/lib/node_modules

fixes the issue, now you can run the command you ran again.

0
5

For those of you still unable to fix the problem after using the above mentioned solutions. Try this

sudo chown -R $(whoami) $(npm config get prefix)/{lib/node_modules,bin,share}

That should do the trick, cheers!

5

It is work 100%

sudo chown -R $(whoami) $(npm config get prefix)/{lib/node_modules,bin,share}

5

Below command worked for me:

sudo npm install -g appium --unsafe-perm=true --allow-root
4

Use this command to install npm as the sudo user:

sudo npm install -g create-react-app 

instead of npm install -g create-react-a pp.

2
  • 1
    quoting @Lukas- using sudo while installing npm packages. The deeper you go with such path the harder it will be to fix it afterward. Just change permissions to npm folder as pointed in another answer and live a better life. Commented Mar 1, 2020 at 4:48
  • 1
    Not a good idea. I would suggest against it. You open another can of worms this way.
    – Jaya Mayu
    Commented Aug 27, 2020 at 7:27
3

Simply you can change the owner or just use sudo before you command like this

sudo chown -R [owner]:[owner] /usr/local/lib/node_modules (change owner)

or

sudo npm install -g json-server

that's it.

3

Helped only this:

sudo chown -R ownerName: /usr/local/lib/node_modules
3

You need the permission of superuser levels to install React. In Linux/Unix the superuser account is generally named 'root'.

To get superuser privilege just run the following command on your terminal:

sudo -i

and then simply run the command to install React:

npm install -g create-react-app

However, the reactjs team encourages us to use the following command instead of installing a global package.

npx create-react-app app_name
2
  • 1
    Using sudo is a risky proposition, some packages may be safe but others may set off to do something else and take advantage of the root privileges that you are granting. sudo runs the subsequent commands as superuser
    – rustyDev
    Commented Dec 13, 2019 at 18:59
  • Some packages like create-react-app need root privileges to be installed as global packages; otherwise, you won't able to install it. However, the reactjs team encourages us to use the following command npx create-react-app app_name instead of installing a global package. Commented Dec 14, 2019 at 3:41
3

After long research i understood that nothing is required for mac OS to install angular cli just use sudo npm install -g @angular/cli your terminal will prompt password enter your password it will proceed to install cli. It worked for me.

3

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/node_modules

0
3

Similar to POsha's answer but this is what worked for me on ubuntu 19

sudo npm i -g ngrok --unsafe-perm=true --allow-root

From this link

https://github.com/inconshreveable/ngrok/issues/429

3

Just add "sudo" before npm command. Thats it.

1
  • 9
    Please don't recommend this as it's an anti-pattern and can mess with future installations
    – Andrei
    Commented Aug 5, 2020 at 21:42

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