How can the default node version be set using NVM?

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?

18 Answers

(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 

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 

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

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 

You can also like this:

$ nvm alias default lts/fermium 

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:

1. 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) 

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

node -v

You will get...

v13.10.1 

3. 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

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

nvm alias default 'lts/*' 

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.

First check available versions

nvm list 

Then set default version using

nvm alias default lts/** 

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).

nvm alias default 16 (where "16" is the version you want to use) but if you're install node from before I would suggest you remove it first. For m1 or m1 pro chips, I suggest you follow this solution:

In Nutshell steps to use NVM

For Mac

curl -o- | 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 | sudo -E bash - sudo apt install nodejs 

For Windows

Git's installer for Windows from below link node-v16.XX.XX-x64.msi from below link 

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 

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

This is what works for me.

nvm use default v16 

This did not do anything for me

nvm alias default v16 

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

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

nvm install 12.13.1 then, nvm alias default 12.13.1

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