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I've been using NVM to install the latest versions of Node.js for my Node.js work. It works totally fine for installing separate versions and switching between them. It also installs the latest version of NPM within each local .../bin folder along with the Node.js binary. However, there doesn't seem to be a way to switch the version of NPM that I'm using (or at least I can't figure it out).

The only solution I can think of myself is to delete the binary that it's defaulting to (which is the NPM that was installed when I first installed node with NVM), and in its place to put the latest NPM binary. However, is there a better way to go about doing this?

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  • 4
    Why do you wanna change the version of NPM, it's not like you gonna install any package that only works with an old version of NPM. And after node 0.6, node comes with the latest NPM. So changing node version will also change npm version.
    – Farid Nouri Neshat
    Commented Mar 18, 2012 at 4:35
  • 4
    except it doesn't through NVM. yes - node comes with NPM, but that just means that it installs a binary alongside it. i can see both binaries in their respective folders, but when i run "nvm use v0.6.13", the npm binary in use remains the one that was installed with the older version of node, instead of the one installed with the newest version.
    – thisissami
    Commented Mar 19, 2012 at 15:35
  • 2
    Here's the code for npm: github.com/creationix/nvm/blob/master/nvm.sh#L135-148 , which is not needed since, 0.6, so maybe you should try to remove that part. That should help. You can also create an issue on github.
    – Farid Nouri Neshat
    Commented Mar 20, 2012 at 2:35
  • I am working on this problem right now, any help appreciated - stackoverflow.com/questions/50976138/…
    – Alexander Mills
    Commented Jun 21, 2018 at 19:25
  • 1
    Do not confuse it with nvm-windows (!!!) which is nvm as well in command line!!! Check this instead: stackoverflow.com/questions/54652381/…
    – Ruslan Zhomir
    Commented Jul 29, 2022 at 16:16

22 Answers 22

Reset to default
592

As noted in another answer, there is now a command for this:

nvm now has a command to update npm. It's nvm install-latest-npm or nvm install --latest-npm.

nvm install-latest-npm: Attempt to upgrade to the latest working npm on the current Node.js version.

nvm install --latest-npm: After installing, attempt to upgrade to the latest working npm on the given Node.js version.

Below are previous revisions of the correct answer to this question.

For later versions of npm it is much simpler now. Just update the version that nvm installed, which lives in ~/.nvm/versions/node/[your-version]/lib/node_modules/npm.

I installed Node.js 4.2.2, which comes with npm 2.14.7, but I want to use npm 3. So I did:

cd ~/.nvm/versions/node/v4.2.2/lib
npm install npm

Easy!

And yes, this should work for any module, not just npm, that you want to be "global" for a specific version of node.

In a newer version, npm -g is smart and installs modules into the path above instead of the system global path.

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  • 22
    and for those who don't know where their nvm is, like me, run a which npm.
    – Larry
    Commented Jan 27, 2016 at 15:33
  • 53
    And if you want a version of npm other than the latest, run npm install [email protected] to get that specific version, e.g. [email protected]
    – Michael
    Commented Nov 21, 2016 at 18:15
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    Something similar works for nvm-windows too, e.g. cd ~/AppData/Roaming/nvm/v5.10.1.
    – absynce
    Commented Feb 24, 2017 at 20:17
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    For anyone using nvm for Windows, the same can be done as above (running npm install npm), but in the node install locations for Windows. In Windows 10, this is ~/AppData/Roaming/nvm/[your-version]. i.e Users\myusername\AppData\Roaming\nvm\v9.7.1
    – Sean Holmesby
    Commented Mar 28, 2018 at 16:31
  • 3
    Even easier: nvm install-latest-npm as answered below by samlandfried -stackoverflow.com/a/47519162/5991278
    – philraj
    Commented Aug 17, 2018 at 19:07
189

Use

npm install [email protected] -g
npm install [email protected] -g
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  • 29
    Though the question is about nvm, I actually came here for that, thanks. Upvoting.
    – Mouloud85
    Commented May 16, 2018 at 12:06
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    This command will work regardless of which version of Node you've installed with nvm, because of the -g flag. When you switch versions in nvm, the npm version will change as well, so it's easy to undo this action.
    – A.Wan
    Commented Nov 24, 2021 at 0:26
  • 4
    An explanation would be in order. E.g., what is the idea/gist? What is it supposed to do? Is "x.x.x" literal or not? Is it installing two versions side by side (at the same time)? From the Help Center: "...always explain why the solution you're presenting is appropriate and how it works". Please respond by editing (changing) your answer, not here in comments (without "Edit:", "Update:", or similar - the answer should appear as if it was written today).
    – Peter Mortensen
    Commented Aug 9, 2022 at 19:57
61

nvm doesn't handle npm.

So if you want to install Node.js 0.4.x (which many packages still depend on) and use NPM, you can still use npm 1.0.x.

Install Node.js 0.6.x (which comes with npm 1.1.x) and install nvm with npm:

npm install nvm
. ~/nvm/nvm.sh

Install Node.js 0.4.x with nvm:

nvm install v0.4.12
nvm use v0.4.12

Install npm using install.sh (note the -L parameter to follow any redirects):

curl -L https://npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

This will detect Node.js 0.4.12 and install npm 1.0.106 in your ~/nvm/v0.4.12/lib/node_modules folder and create a symbolic link for nvm:

~/nvm/v0.4.12/bin/npm -> ../lib/node_modules/npm/bin/npm-cli.js

If you try to run npm, it will still give an error, but if you do nvm use v0.4.12 again, it should now work.

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  • 3
    Thanks! A note that the url has changed to: curl https://npmjs.org/install.sh | sh
    – tristen
    Commented Sep 24, 2012 at 14:50
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    Is this a really old answer now? My npm is downloaded by nvm automatically as a dependency of the node version I'm using.
    – Damon Smith
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 0:49
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    Yeah. It's old. If you're still using node 0.4 and an old nvm you might see this issue.
    – fijiaaron
    Commented Jan 28, 2015 at 22:51
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    The URL has been changed again to force www. Use curl -L to follow the redirect.
    – Neal Ehardt
    Commented Oct 7, 2015 at 20:27
  • To install a specific npm version: curl -L https://www.npmjs.com/install.sh | npm_install="6.14.18" sh
    – racitup
    Commented Jan 4 at 22:55
50

I'm on Windows and I couldn't get any of this stuff to work. I kept getting errors about files being in the way. This worked though:

cd %APPDATA%\nvm\v8.10.0           # or whatever version you're using
mv npm npm-old
mv npm.cmd npm-old.cmd
cd node_modules\
mv npm npm-old
cd npm-old\bin
node npm-cli.js i -g npm@latest

cd %APPDATA%\nvm\v8.10.0 # or whatever version you're using
rm npm-old
rm npm-old.cmd
cd node_modules\
rm -rf npm-old

And boom, I'm back in business.

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  • 3
    Thanks, this worked for me as well, on Windows. (had same issue of file conflicts)
    – Venryx
    Commented Jul 20, 2018 at 4:53
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    Worked for me thx. Am using nvm on Windows to manage node and wanted to uplift nvm after switching to node version. Had to run console with elevated permissions. My path nodejs folder is "C:\Program Files\nodejs" which is an alias for a.n.other location on my machine nvm uses to cache downloads (not APPDATA), guess I elected a different location when installing nvm.
    – Moika Turns
    Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 13:11
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    Thank you, they probably need to fix the way npm update on every old nodejs version on nvm windows.
    – rbinsztock
    Commented May 2, 2019 at 8:36
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    Worked on windows with nodejs v10.15.3, had to change mv to ren and rm to del and rmdir for me.
    – deerchao
    Commented Sep 19, 2019 at 4:35
  • 2
    I found that when upgrading from npm@6, I also had to rename npx and npx.cmd. Not sure what version introduced npx.
    – Ken Lyon
    Commented Feb 19, 2021 at 23:17
49

nvm now has a command to update npm. It's nvm install-latest-npm or npm install --latest-npm.

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    Do you have a link to the documentation for this?
    – allicarn
    Commented Jan 30, 2018 at 16:38
  • 2
    From nvm help console output: --latest-npm After installing, attempt to upgrade to the latest working npm on the given node version I didn't find a reference to this in the nvm docs, though. Please share if you find it.
    – samlandfried
    Commented Mar 9, 2018 at 16:47
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    its only available on 32 bits
    – Negin Basiri
    Commented Aug 12, 2019 at 1:17
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    when i ran this, it updated node as well
    – Kip
    Commented Oct 7, 2021 at 14:13
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    Is it possible to save the npm version into an .nvmrc-like file?
    – derpedy-doo
    Commented Oct 13, 2021 at 21:12
42

In Windows, run your terminal as system administrator (in case there are permission issues as I had). Then use a specific Node.js version (say 7.8.0) by

nvm use 7.8.0

Then update your npm to desired the specific version by:

npm install -g [email protected]
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  • Yes, I ended up just doing this on Windows. nvm-windows doesn't seem to have install-latest-npm command, and this seemed to do the trick just fine.
    – Hemaolle
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 10:53
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Changing npm versions on Linux-based OSes isn't a straightforward one-command process yet. I have done the following to switch back to older versions of npm. This should work to get any version of npm working.

First install the version of npm you want to use:

sudo npm install -g [email protected]

Remove the symbolic link in /usr/local/bin/:

sudo rm /usr/local/bin/npm

Recreate the symbolic link using the desired version of npm you have installed:

sudo ln -s /usr/bin/[email protected] /usr/local/bin/npm
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    followed these instructions trying to go from 2.14.7 to 2.15.9, and now when I type npm -v, I get 3.8.6. Dammit.
    – Kyle Baker
    Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 16:52
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    After trying several things, for me, just using sudo npm install -g [email protected] gets me that version responding from npm -v. This at least worked going from 4.x to 2.15.9, anyways.
    – Kyle Baker
    Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 17:43
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    In my case sudo npm install -g [email protected] only installed 4.6.1 but npm 5.1.0 was still used. Your tip help me switch to 4.6.1.
    – Hung Tran
    Commented Jul 11, 2017 at 4:11
16

You can install two versions of Node.js using nvm, and install different version of npm on each Node.js environment.

For example, nvm install 14.18.0 and nvm install 14.18.1 will install two separate Node.js environments.

  • In 14.18.0, you can use npm v6 (installed by default).
  • In 14.18.1, you can use npm v7 (install with npm install -g npm@7).

This way, you can switch to different npm versions without pain.

nvm use 14.18.0

    Now using node v14.18.0 (npm v6.14.15)

nvm use 14.18.1

    Now using node v14.18.1 (npm v7.24.2)
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  1. Find the Node.js and npm version you want to use from here Previous Releases
  2. nvm use 8.11.4
  3. You already got the npm 5.6 with Node.js 8.11.4

Just go with nvm use node_version.

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    That works fine for the first time. If you upgrade run npm i -g npm from an older node version and it updates to latest, your npm version will be the latest.
    – BonisTech
    Commented Jan 13, 2022 at 14:16
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By looking at www.npmjs.com/install.sh I found there is a way to install a specific version by setting an environment variable.

export npm_install="2.14.14"

Then run the download-script as described at npmjs.com:

curl -L https://www.npmjs.com/install.sh | sh

If you omit setting the npm_install variable, then it will install the version they have marked as latest.

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  • 2
    I had to use curl -L https://www.npmjs.com/install.sh | sudo sh, aaaaand this method did not work, getting me the latest version even though I had exported said environment variable. God dammit. I wanted version 2.15.9 from 2.14.7, answer below put me at 3.8.6, and now this answer puts me at 4.0.2. WTF.
    – Kyle Baker
    Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 17:11
8

We can easily solve this using n.

To install n:

npm install -g n

To switch versions:

n latest

To switch to a particular version:

n 10.16.0
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  • 2
    npm and n both manages nodejs versions not npm versions.
    – ishandutta2007
    Commented Aug 26, 2023 at 7:16
4

I had the same issue after installing nvm-windows on top of an existing Node.js installation. The solution was just to follow the instructions:

You should also delete the existing npm install location (e.g. "C:\Users\AppData\Roaming\npm") so that the nvm install location will be correctly used instead.

Installation & Upgrades

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3

Use npm i -g npm. Try to run this as well.

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1
  • This is always the quickest and easiest I normally use.
    – CTS_AE
    Commented Jan 17, 2019 at 0:25
3

The easy way to change version is first to check your available version using

nvm ls

Then select a version from the list

nvm use version
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2

A slight variation on the previous instructions. It worked for me (macOS v10.12.6 (Sierra)).

npm install -g [email protected]
rm /usr/local/bin/npm
ln -s ~/.npm-packages/bin/npm /usr/local/bin/npm
npm --version
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2

In my case I updated npm from version 6 to 8 in a Node.js environment set to version 10 by nvm. This resulted in npm not working any more, rendering the answers I found here useless.

I finally resorted to clearing the nvm folder:

rm -rf ~/.nvm/versions/node/*

Afterwards I could work with nvm and npm again. My lesson: Never install a fresh npm version with npm. nvm install-latest-npm seems to let you safely update within legacy environments.

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1

To resolve:

  • I installed the latest version of node using nvm for Windows, which also installed the latest version of npm.
  • I deleted the npm directory from the node_modules folder and replaced it with the new version from the latest node install.

This allowed me to use the latest version of npm with a previous version of node, and resolved the issue I was having.

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0

For some reason, npm install -g [email protected] didn't work, so I've changed the version of npm in file package.json in the npm folder:

which npm

/opt/homebrew/bin/npm

And then run

npm install npm

Platform: macOS v11.2.2 (Big Sur) with M1 (arm64).

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0

In order to change your npm version when using nvm, you must install your npm version only inside the folder of the desired Node.js version. For instance, if you want to install npm version 8.12.1, you must do it inside the node version folder.

If you do it globally, it will not work.

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    Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.
    – Prathamesh More
    Commented Aug 27, 2022 at 10:41
0

If you need it temporarily, you can use npm bundled with nvm-downloaded node version directly.

For example, this shows where is the current node executable and then runs npm install:

$ whereis node
node: ~/.nvm/versions/node/v18.12.1/bin/node
$ ~/.nvm/versions/node/v18.12.1/bin/npm -v
8.19.2
$ ~/.nvm/versions/node/v18.12.1/bin/npm install
...
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0

So I just went through this as npm was throwing an "unsafe legacy renegotiation" error using v18. Node v17 and higher, OpenSSL has been updated to v3.0.7. SSL_OP_LEGACY_SERVER_CONNECT is the option that went from enabled by default in OpenSSL 1.1.1 to disabled by default in OpenSSL 3.0

To downgrade NPM via NPM:

nvm install v16.20.0 nvm use v16.20.0

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-1

NVM installation and usage on Windows

Below are the steps for NVM installation on Windows:

NVM stands for Node Version Manager, which will help to switch your Node.js versions for specific use. It also allows the user to work with multiple npm and Node.js versions.

  • Install nvm setup.
  • Use command "nvm list" to check the list of installed Node.js versions.
  • Type "nvm use version number[6.9.3]" to switch versions.
  • For more information.
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