In Node.js and programming languages, you often need to install multiple versions side by side to match compatibility with the libraries, frameworks, and dependencies you use. What can be utilized in such cases is what’s called a “version management tool” or “version manager”, and for the Node.js language, that would be “nvm”.
This article introduces the installation and usage of nvm, the version manager for the Node.js programming language.
# Installation and update
# ubuntu 18.xx or other dists
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.34.0/install.sh | bash
bash
# Install the latest version of node and npm
nvm install --latest-npm
# Display the currently used version
$ nvm current
v12.4.0
# If "system" or a different version is displayed, change it with "use"
$ nvm use 12.4
Now using node v12.4.0 (npm v6.9.0)
$ nvm current
v12.4.0
# Actually check the version
$ node -v ; npm -v
v12.4.0
6.9.0nvm-sh/nvm: Node Version Manager - Simple bash script to manage multiple active node.js versions