How can the default node version be set using NVM?

Question

I have installed nvm (ubuntu with zsh shell) with two node version: v6.11.5 and v9.0.0 and the default version in nvm is the v9.0.0

Every time I need to change the node version

$ nvm list
         v6.11.5
->       v9.0.0
         system
default -> node (-> v9.0.0)
node -> stable (-> v9.0.0) (default)
stable -> 9.0 (-> v9.0.0) (default)


$ nvm v6

How could I change the nvm version default to define v6.11.5?

LJHarb · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-18T19:00:13.550

1956

(nvm maintainer here)

nvm alias default 6.11.5 if you want it pegged to that specific version.

You can also do nvm alias default 16.

Either way, you'll want to upgrade to the latest version of nvm (v0.33.11 as of this writing)

$ nvm alias default 16.14.2
# nvm set default node.js version 16.14.2

$ node -v
# v16.14.2

edited Apr 18 '22 at 19:00

answered Dec 13 '17 at 06:42

LJHarb

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Addition: alias works as long as you're not installing new versions. After installing a new node the node will be your current node to use. So if you want to prevent this behavior you have to explicitly set up nvm alias default desiredVersionOfNode after each installation or just reopen a terminal. – daGo Sep 22 '19 at 05:39
80

Use `nvm alias default node` to make the "latest" the default. – Ryan Wheale Mar 24 '20 at 21:35
Is anyone else finding that "nvm alias default 10.17.0" isn't recognised as a command ? nvm just gives me a list of available options... it just doesn't seem to do anything (and my "ng -v" continues to use the wrong, older, version of node.js) – Mike Gledhill Mar 27 '20 at 10:13
@MikeGledhill are you sure you're using nvm proper? If you're using `nvm-windows`, that's an entirely different project. Actual `nvm` requires WSL to work on windows. – LJHarb Mar 28 '20 at 21:25
30

Doing `nvm alias default` doesn't do anything. The tag "default" changes, but a new shell is still using the not-desired-version. I found that uninstalling not needed versions works. – Jari Turkia May 29 '20 at 06:30
1

nvm alias default v12.13.1 not set the version as default – sejn Jun 08 '20 at 13:14
8

`nvm alias default node` to use the latest version of Node installed on your computer. Remember to use `nvm use node` (or whatever Node version you want to use) after the first command to actually change the version. My example (I was using version 13 as default, but having 15 on machine and wanting to set default to latest version of Node): `nvm alias default node` `nvm use node` was like using (in my case): `nvm alias default 15` `nvm use 15` – mpoletto Apr 07 '21 at 17:15
1

That's right, then you can do afterwards: nvm use default – Konkret Jul 06 '21 at 12:29
Make sure to quit the Terminal and reopen – Lahiru Pinto Sep 09 '21 at 06:25
4

Might want to just use the latest long-term stable release. `nvm alias default lts/*` – dijonkitchen Sep 16 '21 at 14:25
I seem to need to run `nvm use default` in my `~/.bashrc` file in order to get this to work. – PatS Dec 09 '21 at 19:07
I'm using zsh, I also had to add `nvm use default > /dev/null` to my ~/.zprofile – garryp Apr 04 '22 at 13:17
For paranoid double-checking: I always open a new terminal windows/tab thereaftert, and truly verify with `nvm list` (looking at both `-->` (current version) and `default -->` (default version indeed) as well as `node -v` of course. – Frank Nocke May 26 '22 at 19:49

score 139 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 06 '20 at 17:58

139

Lets say to want to make default version as 10.19.0.

nvm alias default v10.19.0

But it will give following error

! WARNING: Version 'v10.19.0' does not exist.
default -> v10.19.0 (-> N/A)

In That case you need to run two commands in the following order

# Install the version that you would like 
nvm install 10.19.0

# Set 10.19.0 (or another version) as default
nvm alias default 10.19.0

answered Apr 06 '20 at 17:58

Dipesh Yadav

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nvm alias default 10.19.0 Without "v" – Lauris Kuznecovs Mar 19 '21 at 09:15

score 77 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 09 '20 at 18:32

77

This will set the default to be the most current version of node

nvm alias default node

and then you'll need to run

nvm use default

or exit and open a new tab

answered Sep 09 '20 at 18:32

alltozall20381

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2

Asked for node 6, your solution will choose the last node stable version to use. So it will not use specific 6 version – MathKimRobin Sep 09 '20 at 21:52
Even though this is pretty useful, this doesn't answer the question at all. – ljleb Feb 15 '21 at 13:38
This gave me a message "Your user’s .npmrc file (${HOME}/.npmrc) has a `globalconfig` and/or a `prefix` setting, which are incompatible with nvm. Run `nvm use --delete-prefix v15.13.0` to unset it." I ended up running the suggested command and it worked. – Nic Scozzaro Apr 01 '21 at 05:50
Yours is the first answer that tells me to run `nvm use default` which is what I was missing. – MrE Oct 25 '21 at 20:56

score 50 · Answer 4 · edited Apr 15 '22 at 15:31

50

If you want to switch only for once use this

nvm use 12.x

Else if you want to switch the default node version then use

nvm use default 12.x

or

nvm alias default 12.x

edited Apr 15 '22 at 15:31

Paul Verest

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answered Jan 05 '21 at 06:22

Tejesh Palagiri

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score 25 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 03 '20 at 07:28

25

You can also like this:

$ nvm alias default lts/fermium

answered Nov 03 '20 at 07:28

August Gong

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Is there any way to target the latest version ? e.g. `nvm alias default lts/latest` ? – MADforFUNandHappy Nov 16 '21 at 10:22
1

Try with `nvm alias default lts/*` – Pablo Hernández - OtakuPahp Nov 19 '21 at 21:23

Rishabh · Answer 6 · 2021-02-24T17:49:16.437

Alert: This answer is for MacOS only

Let suppose you have 2 versions of nodeJS inside your nvm, namely v13.10.1 & v15.4.0

And, v15.4.0 is default

> nvm list
       v13.10.1
->      v15.4.0
         system
default -> 15.4.0 (-> v15.4.0)

And, you want to switch the default to v13.10.1

Follow these steps on your Mac terminal:

Run the command:

nvm alias default 13.10.1

This will make the default point to v13.10.1 as...

default -> 13.10.1 (-> v13.10.1)

Open new instance of terminal. Now check the node version here as...

node -v

You will get...

v13.10.1

nvm list will also show the new default version.

nvm list

Just an info: The NodeJS versions taken as example above will have their different npm versions. You can cross-verify it in terminal by running npm -v

Kyle Chadha · Answer 7 · 2022-04-13T18:49:56.747

9

For those testing this in VSCode terminal and still seeing the old version even after killing/restarting terminal -- VS code caches the old version somehow. Close/reopen your full VSCode window and you should see the correct version with node -v.

edited Apr 13 '22 at 18:49

answered Nov 23 '21 at 21:10

Kyle Chadha

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score 9 · Answer 8 · answered Dec 15 '21 at 17:03

9

I did something like that after running a nvm install --lts:

nvm alias default 'lts/*'

answered Dec 15 '21 at 17:03

Maxime

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score 8 · Answer 9 · answered Mar 25 '22 at 10:14

8

First check available versions

nvm list

Then set default version using

nvm alias default lts/**

answered Mar 25 '22 at 10:14

Maddu Swaroop

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score 7 · Answer 10 · answered Jun 03 '21 at 05:58

7

I tried the most-upvoted answer and didn’t work for me. The problem was that I had another node installed by brew which NVM recognizes as system-node. NVM prioritizes system-node over default alias. All I had to was to uninstall the system-node (brew uninstall node).

answered Jun 03 '21 at 05:58

Ingun전인건

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Same for me on WSL. I didn't have brew so I used ´sudo apt-get purge --auto-remove nodejs´ – LDW Nov 18 '21 at 13:37
@LDW comment did the job for me on WSL as well. – Denis S Dujota Mar 02 '22 at 03:24

score 6 · Answer 11 · edited Nov 24 '21 at 16:36

6

nvm alias default 16 (where "16" is the version you want to use) but if you're install node from https://nodejs.org/en/download/ before I would suggest you remove it first. For m1 or m1 pro chips, I suggest you follow this solution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fULL8QiPEU4

edited Nov 24 '21 at 16:36

Harrison Cramer

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answered Nov 20 '21 at 05:34

Sirawich voungchuy

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score 5 · Answer 12 · answered May 14 '22 at 10:11

In Nutshell steps to use NVM

For Mac

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.39.1/install.sh | bash
nvm install 16
nvm use 16
nvm alias default 16
npm install npm --global # Upgrade npm to the latest version

For Linux

sudo apt install curl git
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_16.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install nodejs

For Windows

Git's installer for Windows from below link

https://git-scm.com/download/win

node-v16.XX.XX-x64.msi from below link

https://nodejs.org/dist/latest-v16.x/

score 4 · Answer 13 · answered Jan 21 '21 at 08:30

The current answers did not solve the problem for me, because I had node installed in /usr/bin/node and /usr/local/bin/node - so the system always resolved these first, and ignored the nvm version.

I solved the issue by moving the existing versions to /usr/bin/node-system and /usr/local/bin/node-system

Then I had no node command anymore, until I used nvm use :(

I solved this issue by creating a symlink to the version that would be installed by nvm.

sudo mv /usr/local/bin/node /usr/local/bin/node-system    
sudo mv /usr/bin/node /usr/bin/node-system 
nvm use node
  Now using node v12.20.1 (npm v6.14.10)
which node
  /home/paul/.nvm/versions/node/v12.20.1/bin/node
sudo ln -s /home/paul/.nvm/versions/node/v12.20.1/bin/node /usr/bin/node

Then open a new shell

node -v
  v12.20.1

score 3 · Answer 14 · answered Nov 10 '21 at 04:18

Change the default version to use the latest LTS version nvm alias default lts/*

You manually upgrade the global version by doing nvm install lts/* --reinstall-packages-from=lts/* or a weekly cron job if you want to keep your version up to date

The --reinstall-packages-from=lts/* is there to reinstall the global packages you had everytime you change versions

score 1 · Answer 15 · answered Sep 17 '20 at 22:25

1

change the default node version with nvm alias default 10.15.3 *

(replace mine version with your default version number)

you can check your default lists with nvm list

answered Sep 17 '20 at 22:25

Yuto

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score 1 · Answer 16 · answered Dec 15 '20 at 13:29

1

#Worked for me 100% Follow this for default node version:

nvm install 12.13.1 then, nvm alias default 12.13.1

answered Dec 15 '20 at 13:29

Rajbir

21
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score 1 · Answer 17 · answered Mar 09 '22 at 21:50

1

Make sure to have the correct version of node installed globally. Your company might be using a different version.

answered Mar 09 '22 at 21:50

Brandon Austin

11
1

How can the default node version be set using NVM?

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