Switch to Node Version Manager (nvm) on macOS using Homebrew
By Ryan Klarhölter, Fullstack Developer
I have recently switched to macOS after using Linux for a decade. The first thing that bothered me at the start: no package manager! The obvious choice was to use Homebrew. Since choosing it, I now install everything I can with Homebrew (and that includes not only command-line tools, but even applications that come with a GUI, like Visual Studio Code or a browser, which is possible thanks to Homebrew Cask).
I have also installed Node with Homebrew. When I needed a second Node version on my machine, I installed it with Homebrew (brew install node@<version>). It is easy to switch between versions: brew unlink node && brew link --force --overwrite node@<version>. When I started using it, it felt fragile (and because of that, unprofessional as well), and so I ran into a few problems:
- I had to always reset my Node version, when Node was being updated by
brew upgrade. - I once had to clear some directories (that I forgot about) after switching between versions or updating Node. That was an annoying issue which cost me time.
- At some point, I updated npm and it didn’t work anymore with a specific Node version.
That is why, in the end, I decided to switch to nvm. I read on their page they do not support Homebrew installations, but I went for it anyway, and did not experience any problems. I found the following articles very helpful:
- https://jamesauble.medium.com/install-nvm-on-mac-with-brew-adb921fb92cc
- https://michael-kuehnel.de/node.js/2015/09/08/using-vm-to-switch-node-versions.html
Below my step-by-step instructions based on these articles:
- Remove globally installed npm packages (keep a list for later if you want to reinstall them:
npm list -g --depth=0):rm -rf /usr/local/lib/node_modules. - Uninstall Node:
brew uninstall --ignore-dependencies node && brew uninstall --force node. - Install nvm:
brew update && brew install nvm. - Create a directory for nvm:
mkdir ~/.nvm. - Add the following nvm configuration to
~/.zshrc(or.bash_profile, depends on the shell you use):export NVM_DIR=~/.nvm
source $(brew --prefix nvm)/nvm.sh
source $(brew --prefix nvm)/etc/bash_completion.d/nvm - Reopen your terminal or run:
source ~/.zshrc. - Install all the Node versions you need:
nvm install <node-version>. (You can transfer your globally installed packages from one version to another if you want: search the web for “nvm reinstall-packages-from”.) - (Optional.) List installed Node versions:
nvm ls. - (Optional.) Set default Node version that is used in any new shell:
nvm alias default <node-version>. - (Optional.) Switch Node version:
nvm use <node-version>.
That’s it! Your life is a little easier now.
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