Switching between Node versions during development

Editor’s note: This article was last updated by David Omotayo on 25 April 2024 to include information about automating version switching, including why and how to implement it, as well as to offer some alternative Node version managing tools to consider.

Sometimes it seems like new versions of Node.js are released almost weekly — minor versions every few weeks, and major versions every few months. If you are a developer who needs to switch between different applications and projects regularly, you may find you need to run different versions of Node.

Luckily, there are several ways to install multiple versions and switch as needed. This article will discuss and compare two popular Node version managers: NVM for Windows and the n Node version manager for Linux/Mac.

N.B., Different nvm implementations exist for Windows and Linux/Mac; however, the n npm package is only supported on Linux/Mac.

For comparison purposes, let’s pretend that you are working on two applications. The first application is an Angular 12 app running on Node 14.19.0, while the second application is an Angular 11 app running on Node 12.11.1. Here is what you need to accomplish:

• Fix bug X on Application 1
• Upgrade Application 2 to Angular 13

You are actually going to need three versions of Node to complete your tasks because the Angular 13 upgrade requires you to upgrade Application 2 to Node 14.15.0 or greater; we’ll use 16.18.1.

How to change Node versions using NVM

Technically, two completely separate NVM packages offer similar capabilities on different operating systems but are maintained independently of each other:

• nvm-sh/nvm is a Bash script that can be used to manage Node versions on Linux and Mac
• coreybutler/nvm-windows is a Windows application (with or without an installer) that can be used to manage Node versions on Windows

This article focuses on nvm-windows.

Installation

Installation is as simple as downloading the NVM for Windows installer from the latest release on GitHub. Download and extract nvm-setup.zip and double-click on the executable to install.

The installer will place nvm in an appropriate folder on your machine and update your system environment variables so that nvm and future installations of node are available on the command line. Further detailed installation instructions are available on GitHub.

Tip: If you prefer to install to your own folder, download nvm-noinstall.zip and extract it wherever you would like. Run the included install.cmd to set up necessary system environment variables.

Once installation is complete, open a command window and confirm that nvm is available:

D:\>nvm version
1.1.10

How do I switch to a specific version of Node?

nvm-windows allows for the switching of Node versions back and forth. So far, we have the desired versions installed. Let’s see how we can switch between Node versions 18.21.1, 16.18.1, and 14.19.0 using nvm-windows:

D:\>nvm install 18.21.1
...
D:\>nvm install 16.18.1
...
D:\>nvm install 14.19.0
...
D:\>nvm list
    18.12.1
  * 16.18.1 (Currently using 64-bit executable)
    14.19.0
D:\>nvm use 18.12.1
Now using node v18.12.1 (64-bit)
D:\>nvm list
  * 18.12.1 (Currently using 64-bit executable)
    16.18.1
    14.19.0
D:\>nvm use 14.19.0
Now using node v14.19.0 (64-bit)
D:\>nvm list
    18.12.1
    16.18.1
  * 14.19.0 (Currently using 64-bit executable)

• nvm install installed the required Node version (a 64-bit version by default as the current system’s architecture is 64-bit)
• nvm use allows us to select which installed Node version to use
• nvm list lists all the installed Node versions with an asterisk (*) next to the active version

Now that we know how to switch to a specific Node version, we can begin working on our sample applications.

Running Application 1 using NVM for Windows

If you recall, you need to work on two different applications with three different versions of Node to complete all of your tasks. Start by running Application 1 first. Some command output has been truncated (...) to save space:

D:\>nvm list available
|   CURRENT    |     LTS      |  OLD STABLE  | OLD UNSTABLE |
|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
|    19.5.0    |   18.13.0    |   0.12.18    |   0.11.16    |
|    19.4.0    |   18.12.1    |   0.12.17    |   0.11.15    |
...
D:\>nvm install 14.19.0
Downloading node.js version 14.19.0 (64-bit)...
Complete
Creating C:\Users\Brian\Downloads\nvm-noinstall\temp

Downloading npm version 6.14.16... Complete
Installing npm v6.14.16...

Installation complete. If you want to use this version, type
nvm use 14.19.0

D:\>nvm use 14.19.0
D:\>nvm current
v14.19.0
D:\>nvm list
  * 14.19.0 (Currently using 64-bit executable)    
D:\>node -v
v14.19.0
D:\>cd application1
D:\application1>npm install
...
D:\application1>npm start
> [email protected] start D:\application1
> ng serve

** Angular Live Development Server is listening on localhost:4200, open your browser on http://localhost:4200/ **
...

Here are some of nvm’s key capabilities that you just took advantage of to run the application:

• nvm list available provided a convenient partial list of Node versions available to be installed
• nvm current displays the current Node version in use

Once Node is installed and activated, then it is business as usual. You can follow whatever Node/npm workflow your application requires.

Tip: Your Node versions are completely isolated from each other. For example, if you install a package globally on one version of Node, that package won’t be available on other Node versions.

Running Application 2 using NVM for Windows

At this point, you have fixed bug X in Application 1, and you’re now ready to tackle upgrading Application 2 to Angular 8:

D:\nvm install 12.11.1
...
D:>nvm use 12.11.1
Now using node v12.11.1 (64-bit)
D:>cd application2
D:\application2>npm install
...
D:\application2>npm start
...
D:\application2>nvm install 
...
D:\application2>nvm use 16.18.1
Now using node v16.18.1 (64-bit)
D:\application2>npm i -g @angular/cli@13
...
D:\application2>ng update @angular/cli @angular/core
...
D:\application2>npm install
...
D:\application2>npm start
...

With the help of NVM (and Angular CLI), you made quick work of the upgrade with a few commands:

• nvm install and nvm use installed and activated v12.11.1 so you could verify that the application worked as expected before the upgrade
• nvm install and nvm use installed and activated v14.19.0 in preparation for the upgrade
• Globally installed the @angular/cli package to get access to the ng update command that automatically upgrades Angular applications
• Used npm install and npm start to test the newly upgraded application

An introduction to n

The n Node version manager is an open source CLI tool that allows you to effortlessly install, switch between, and simultaneously manage multiple Node.js versions on your computer. n supports a variety of popular operating systems, including macOS, Linux, and Windows Subsystems for Linux (WSL).

Compared to NVM, n offers a simpler installation process and easier control over installing multiple Node.js versions, switching between versions, and listing installed versions.

Aside from its simplicity, n also provides additional project compatibility and improved efficiency benefits. These benefits ensure that projects that require specific Node.js versions run correctly and streamline development workflows by allowing you to switch between versions quickly.

How to switch Node versions using n

Installation

If you have a version of Node and npm installed already, you can install n just like any other npm package as follows:

npm install -g n

If you don’t already have a version of Node or npm installed, you can install n with a Bash script from GitHub. Here is what it looks like:

Tip: You must have Git installed to install n with the Bash script.

~$ curl -L https://bit.ly/n-install | bash
...
=== n successfully installed.
  ...

  Run `n -h` for help.
  To update n later, run `n-update`.
  To uninstall, run `n-uninstall`.

  IMPORTANT: OPEN A NEW TERMINAL TAB/WINDOW or run `. /home/brian/.bashrc`
             before using n and Node.js.
===
~$ . /home/brian/.bashrc
~$ n
node/16.18.1

n is installed by downloading and running the n-install script from GitHub. After installation, running n demonstrates that a version of Node is installed by default.

Running application 1 with n Node version manager

Application 1 requires Node 14.19.0, so you need to install that first, then run the app:

~$ n 14.19.0
     install : node-v14.19.0
       mkdir : /home/brian/n/n/versions/node/14.19.0
       fetch : https://nodejs.org/dist/v14.19.0/node-v14.19.0-linux-x64.tar.gz
####################################################################################################################################### 100.0%
installed : v14.19.0
~$ node -v
v14.19.0
~$ cd application1
~/application1$ npm install
...
~/application1$ npm start
> [email protected] start ~/application1
> ng serve

** Angular Live Development Server is listening on localhost:4200, open your browser on http://localhost:4200/ **
...

The n command for installing and activating a version of Node is simple: n 14.19.0. You could also use n latest for the latest version of Node or n lts for the latest LTS version of Node. If the version of Node is already installed, then n will simply switch to that version.

After installing Node, the application can run as usual.

N.B., Similar to nvm, Node versions are completely isolated from each other. For example, globally installed packages are not shared between Node versions.

Running application 2 with n

Next up, you need to get Application 2 running and proceed with the Angular 8 upgrade:

$ n 12.11.1
...
$ cd application2
~/application2$ npm install
...
~/application2$ npm start
...
~/application2$ n 16.18.1
...
~/application2$ npm i -g @angular/cli@13
...
~/application2$ ng update @angular/cli @angular/core
...
~/application2$ npm install
...
~/application2$ npm start
...

Node 12.11.1 was installed to make sure Application 2 was working prior to the upgrade. Then, Node 16.18.1 is installed as required by Angular 13. The Angular CLI is installed globally, and the application is updated with ng update.

Finally, the application is started to test after the upgrade. You might have noticed that n makes it slightly quicker to install and switch to new versions of Node with a single n <version> command.

Using a Node binary directly

n offers the ability to invoke a specific Node binary directly without having to explicitly switch to that Node version. NVM does not have a similar capability:

~$ echo "console.log('Node version: ' + process.version)" > index.js
~$ node -v
v16.18.1
~$ n use 14.19.0 index.js
Node version: v14.19.0
~$ n use 12.4.0 index.js
  Error: '12.4.0' is not installed
~$ node -v
v16.18.1

In the example above, the active version of Node is v16.18.1. When n use 14.19.0 index.js is run, the output indicates that the version of Node used to execute the script was 14.19.0. After execution, the active version of Node is still v16.18.1. Note that the n use command requires the requested version of Node to be installed by n already.

This capability can be useful in certain situations. For example, think of a build server used to build different apps with their own required Node versions. Each build could be triggered with the n use command, specifying the required Node version for that application.

Automating version switching

Let’s face it: switching between Node.js versions when working on multiple projects can be a pain, and that’s not considering the amount of time you might waste searching for a non-existent bug caused by using the wrong Node.js version or having to remember multiple node versions.

Automating this process will not only save you time, but it’ll also help you get started with your projects with a clear mind.

Although it may seem counterintuitive to set up an automation that might take you double the time it would take to switch to the preferred version and get to work, the potential time savings, in the long run, will outweigh the initial setup time.

Automating version switching is a fairly straightforward process, all you have to do is create a .nvmrc file in your project directory and specify the preferred Node version. For example, if your project requires Node.js version 18.14.0, you’ll add the following:

18.14.0

Alternatively, if you want your project to always use the latest version of Node, you can specify the following instead:

node -v > .nvmrc

Then, add the following script at the end of your ~/.bashrc file:

export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"  # This loads nvm
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion"  # This loads nvm bash_completion


nvm_auto_use() {
  local node_version="$(nvm version)"
  local nvmrc_path="$(nvm_find_nvmrc)"

  if [ -n "$nvmrc_path" ]; then
    local nvmrc_node_version=$(nvm version "$(cat "${nvmrc_path}")")

    if [ "$nvmrc_node_version" = "N/A" ]; then
      nvm install
    elif [ "$nvmrc_node_version" != "$node_version" ]; then
      nvm use
    fi
  elif [ "$node_version" != "$(nvm version default)" ]; then
    echo "Reverting to nvm default version"
    nvm use default
  fi
}
export -f nvm_auto_use
PROMPT_COMMAND="nvm_auto_use; $PROMPT_COMMAND"

Or you can add the following script to your ~/.zshrc if you’re using the Zsh terminal:

load-nvmrc() {
  local nvmrc_path
  nvmrc_path="$(nvm_find_nvmrc)"

  if [ -n "$nvmrc_path" ]; then
    local nvmrc_node_version
    nvmrc_node_version=$(nvm version "$(cat "${nvmrc_path}")")

    if [ "$nvmrc_node_version" = "N/A" ]; then
      nvm install
    elif [ "$nvmrc_node_version" != "$(nvm version)" ]; then
      nvm use
    fi
  elif [ -n "$(PWD=$OLDPWD nvm_find_nvmrc)" ] && [ "$(nvm version)" != "$(nvm version default)" ]; then
    echo "Reverting to nvm default version"
    nvm use default
  fi
}

add-zsh-hook chpwd load-nvmrc
load-nvmrc

These scripts will automatically check your shell for a .nvmrc file in every directory you change to (cd into) and switch to the specified Node.js version.

Now, run source ~/.zshrc or source ~/.bashrc to complete the setup.

This automation procedure only applies to Unix shell environments, which means the method won’t work on Windows-based systems because the .zshrc and .bashrc files aren’t directly available on a native Windows system.

To automate version switching on Windows, you can use third-party tools like AVN, NVM Shim, or the VS Code NVM switcher extension. Note that these tools also require you to add an .nvmrc file in the root folder of your project with the preferred version specified, as described earlier.

Comparing nvm for Windows and n Node version manager

The NVM for Windows and N tools share many features, but they also have unique aspects that influence how and when you should use each tool. Here is a summary of some of the key differences:

Capability	NVM for Windows	n
Installation	Windows installer or standalone installation	Bash script or npm package
Operating system support	Windows (different implementations for Linux/Mac are available)	Linux/Mac only
List available versions of Node to install?	Yes	No
List installed versions of Node?	Yes	Yes
Install and switch between different Node versions?	Yes	Yes
Access Node binary directly?	No	Yes
Choose which architecture (x86, x64) to install?	Yes	Yes

You may use n on your Linux box because of its simple API. Or maybe you’ll choose NVM for Windows on your Windows box and n on your Linux build server to manage Node versions between different build jobs.

Whatever the situation, both tools do a fantastic job of fulfilling the need to switch Node versions on the fly. Happy Node version switching!

Other Node version managers to consider

There are several other Node version managers besides n and NVM that offer similar functionalities and sometimes additional features. Here are a few popular options:

• Volta: Volta is a JavaScript version manager tool built on Rust for managing different Node.js versions as well as other tools like Yarn, npm, and various language runtimes. Volta supports multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Fast Node Manager (FNM): FNM is another JavaScript version manager built on Rust. However, unlike the Volta, it is specifically designed for Node.js, and just as its name suggests, it boasts faster performance compared to some other options. FNM is compatible across Windows, macOS, and Linux systems.
• asdf: asdf is a general-purpose version manager that isn’t limited to Node.js and allows managing versions of various languages and frameworks such as Ruby, Java, Python, and more. asdf is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Read more in “Manage Node.js versions using asdf“
• Nodist: Nodist is a Node.js version manager specifically designed for Windows environments. As such, it offers a simpler installation process and integrates well with the Windows command prompt

Conclusion

In this article, we explored two popular Node version managers: NVM for Windows and n for Linux/Mac. Both offer efficient ways to switch between Node.js versions for your development needs. The article also provided a brief introduction to other options like Volta, FNM, asdf, and Nodist, giving you a broader perspective on available tools.

With the knowledge gained from this article, you can confidently select the right tool and manage your Node.js versions like a pro!