Homebrew installs nvm but nvm can't be found afterwards?

Question

I'm using homebrew and oh-my-zsh on a fresh OSX 10.10.1 install. I got nvm via homebrew and then attempted to run it but says - zsh: command not found: nvm

Any idea what the problem is? I was able to install and use git just fine...

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UPDATED 9/20/2019

As stated by more recent answers from DarkPurple141 and Elise van Looij. nvm doesn't appear to be compatible with homebrew. This is also stated in the official nvm-sh repo located here.

Homebrew installation is not supported. If you have issues with homebrew-installed nvm, please brew uninstall it, and install it using the instructions below, before filing an issue.

Note: If you're using zsh you can easily install nvm as a zsh plugin. Install zsh-nvm and run nvm upgrade to upgrade.

The following steps should help:

1. $ brew uninstall nvm

2. $ brew cleanup (just for good measure)

3. $ curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.34.0/install.sh | bash

4. Check that nvm was installed correctly by running $ command -v nvm.

   4.a If the response is anything other than $ nvm, add the following two lines to the ~/.bash-profile file: export NVM_DIR=~/.nvm source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh

   4.b Restart your computer (you can try closing Terminal and restarting it first)

   4.c $ command -v nvm should now return nvm`

5. Now update Node.js with $ nvm install --lts

6. Update npm: $ nvm install-latest-npm

7. $ npm install --global mocha. Finally, success! Well, for me and I hope for you too.

Adust

Does it persist if you restart Terminal? – Halland

Try typing rehash or opening a new shell. Sometimes zsh doesn't pick up additions. – Wisconsin

I've closed the shell, rebooted system and nothing. Did rehash and no luck. – Adust

How about brew link nvm does that do anything ? – Wisconsin

Warning: Already linked: /usr/local/Cellar/nvm/0.20.0 To relink: brew unlink nvm && brew link nvm – Adust

nano .bash_profile is your friend for 4.a. Thanks Dayan! – Varied

echo 'export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"' >> ~/.zshrc echo '[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"' >> ~/.zshrc Note: If you're using Bash instead of Zsh, replace ~/.zshrc with ~/.bashrc. – Salsify

Answer 1

Did you follow the instructions listed in the caveats?

[~] brew info nvm
nvm: stable 0.20.0, HEAD
https://github.com/creationix/nvm
Not installed
From: https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew/blob/master/Library/Formula/nvm.rb
==> Caveats
Add the following to $HOME/.bashrc, $HOME/.zshrc, or your shell's
equivalent configuration file:

  source $(brew --prefix nvm)/nvm.sh

Node installs will be lost upon upgrading nvm. Add the following above
the source line to move install location and prevent this:

  export NVM_DIR=~/.nvm

Without the extra config it doesn't look like it will find NVM by default..

Wisconsin

Thank you for the heads up Doon, i was not aware of brew info, still new to homebrew :) Its working good now after following those steps. – Adust

They should be shown after the install completes as well. But if you are not looking for them they can be missed. – Wisconsin

I had to add this to by ~/.bash_profile to get it working :/ – Rosefish

hmm. I don't use bash(prefer zsh), but it looks like OSX terminal.app (I don't use terminal either, prefer Iterm2), opens each shell as a login shell so yes .bash_profile would be correct in that case.. also the info has changed. so you should refer to the latest version.. – Wisconsin

Thanks! I was missing this line source $(brew --prefix nvm)/nvm.sh. Added it to my .zshrh – Hellebore

A little more is needed. Don't forget to apply the changes by running the script! I noted this in https://mcmap.net/q/141833/-homebrew-installs-nvm-but-nvm-can-39-t-be-found-afterwards – Mudskipper

this slows down terminal startup – Rascally

Answer 2

There are TWO things you need to do. Follow the caveats shown after installing nvm via brew, and THEN you need to activate/reload the .bash_profile/.zshrc changes.

1. Run brew install nvm
2. Follow caveats shown in console, mine were as follows, yours MAY be different!:

Add the following to ~/.bash_profile, ~/.zshrc or your desired shell configuration file:

export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
. "$(brew --prefix nvm)/nvm.sh"

3. Run . ~/.bash_profile to apply the changes you made to your .bash_profile file (Adjust as required for .zshrc and similar)

Mudskipper

This is useful for Bash users, but the OP is on zsh. I guess the same applies to .zshrc with the necessary modifications. – Xanthochroid

Thanks. (if you're on zsh, just type command, bash and then apply the steps) – Necrophilia

Years later I see the above comment made, and notice I am since then now also using zsh instead of bash lol. Also adjusted my answer to also include zsh, as per other comment. – Mudskipper

Answer 3

I've spent a couple of hours going round and round on this issue, but I've come to the conclusion that DarkPurple141 is right: nvm just isn't compatible with Homebrew, as they state on their Github nvm-sh/nvm Node Version Manager. Homebrew will install nvm and everything looks fine, until one tries to get npm to install a module, Mocha in my case. That threw me right back to the dreaded error:

ERR! Error: EACCES: permission denied, access '/usr/local/lib/node_modules'

NOTE: On step 3, make sure to replace version with correct release.

The solution, on MacOS 10.14 Mojave, was:

1. $ brew uninstall nvm
2. $ brew cleanup (just for good measure)
3. $ curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.35.0/install.sh | bash

4. Check that nvm was installed correctly by running $ command -v nvm.

   4.a If the response is anything other than $ nvm, add the following two lines to the ~/.bash-profile file: export NVM_DIR=~/.nvm source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh 4.b Restart your computer (you can try closing Terminal and restarting it first) 4.c $ command -v nvm should now returnnvm`

5. Now update Node.js with $ nvm install --lts

6. Update npm: $ nvm install-latest-npm
7. $ npm install --global mocha. Finally, success! Well, for me and I hope for you too.

Doering

For the people who are using zshrc instead of bash use the following command in the step number 4.a: nano ~/.zshrc Now you add the two commands, restart the terminal and you're good to go :) – Preamble

Just to add, at step 4 one need to add complete info to .bash_profile returned from step 3. Mine was like : export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm" [ -s "/opt/homebrew/opt/nvm/nvm.sh" ] && \. "/opt/homebrew/opt/nvm/nvm.sh" # This loads nvm [ -s "/opt/homebrew/opt/nvm/etc/bash_completion.d/nvm" ] && \. "/opt/homebrew/opt/nvm/etc/bash_completion.d/nvm" # This loads nvm bash_completion and then run . ~/.bash_profile to keep the terminal ready to use it. – Carburize

step 4 was extremely helpful, thanks! – Murder

Answer 4

To install nvm, brew install nvm

To run nvm after installation or just once, $(brew --prefix nvm)/nvm.sh

To run nvm everytime zsh opens

1. nano ~/.zshrc
2. Add this line source $(brew --prefix nvm)/nvm.sh

Barratry

Answer 5

While the accepted answer does technically work, it's worth noting that Homebrew installation is not officially supported by the nvm package. The recommended way to avoid issues like those raised above is to apply either of the below methods of installation.

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.34.0/install.sh | bash

# or wget:
wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.34.0/install.sh | bash

source: https://github.com/creationix/nvm

Pentaprism

Answer 6

I ran into this, like many here, but all the suggested options only worked until I restarted the terminal. Here's an option that fixed it

Create NVM’s working directory.

mkdir ~/.nvm

Edit your shell config file to add the path to the NVM home directory. The shell config file would be ~/.bash_profile if you are using Bash, or ~./zshrc if you are using Zsh, the default shell for MacOS Catalina and later versions.

# open config file
nano ~/.zshrc

Add the following to the config file.

# add the nvm path
export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
# load the nvm script every time you open the terminal
source $(brew --prefix nvm)/nvm.sh

Close your nano editor and verify the path to the home directory with the commands below.

source ~/.zshrc                   # reload config file
echo $NVM_DIR                     # echo path
nvm --version                     # check nvm version

Hospodar

I think installing oh-my-zsh seems to have overwritten this even when I had done it already. Thank you for writing this out so I could restore my .zshrc :) – Misguidance

Answer 7

The reason you would need to reload your bash profiles or any other bash files might be because the command nvm may not be a program but a function that is defined and can only be used if the corresponding bash file is sourced.

On a system that I checked

which nvm 

does not work but

nvm list

does. This means that you can use the word "nvm" to invoke something. That something isn't a program. In the current case, it is a function which can be verified by

typeset -F | grep -P ' nvm$'

which outputs

declare -F nvm

which means nvm is a function, whose body can be inspected by doing

type -F nvm

Primula

Nice.. But, how is this an answer? – Adust

Thanks for the update Dayan - edited the answer - the reason why I couldn't find it because I was relying on it being a program but it was defined as a function. Wanted to highlight that. – Primula

To check whether nvm has been installed properly use 'command -v nvm' in the Terminal. The response should be 'nvm'. If it's not, follow the instructions on github.com/nvm-sh/nvm#installation-and-update. – Doering

Answer 8

One possibility if brew was used is that the nvm may be unlinked, especially if it was installed by another MAC OS user.

In this case, execute:

brew link nvm

Upsurge

Answer 9

I'd like to add that nvm's location on github changed and the version bumped. The curl command now should be:

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.35.0/install.sh | bash

Trustful

Answer 10

Instructions from lukechilds/zsh-nvm#as-an-oh-my-zsh-custom-plugin

If you are using macos + zsh + oh-my-zsh:

1. Clone zsh-nvm into your custom plugins repo

   git clone https://github.com/lukechilds/zsh-nvm ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/zsh-nvm
   

2. Then load nvm as a plugin in your .zshrc file

   plugins+=(zsh-nvm)
   

   Keep in mind that plugins need to be added before oh-my-zsh.sh is sourced.

   f.e.

   $ nano ~/.zshrc
   
   // edit .zshrc contents
   ...
   # Which plugins would you like to load?
   # Standard plugins can be found in $ZSH/plugins/
   # Custom plugins may be added to $ZSH_CUSTOM/plugins/
   # Example format: plugins=(rails git textmate ruby lighthouse)
   # Add wisely, as too many plugins slow down shell startup.
   # docs: f.e. https://github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/tree/master/plugins/kubectl
   
   plugins=(zsh-nvm)
   
   source $ZSH/oh-my-zsh.sh
   ...
   
   

3. Finally reload the configuration $ source ~/.zshrc

Rokach

This was exactly what I had been looking for it worked so well. Thank you. – Neckline

Answer 11

if you happen to be using fish shell, consider https://github.com/jorgebucaran/nvm.fish

Moniquemonism