Install Node.js to install n to install Node.js?

Question

I have a problem understanding the use of n. Basically, it is clear that it is a version manager for Node.js such as nvm.

But in contrast to nvm, which is basically a shell script, according to the documentation you are encouraged to use npm to install n:

$ npm install -g n

What I don't get is: For having npm at hand you need to install Node.js. Why would I install Node.js manually to use npm to then be able to install Node.js using n?

To put my question in other words: Why does n suggest installing using npm, if its main purpose is to install Node.js, which includes npm?

Weaponeer

Answer 1

tl; dr

# Installs n and the latest LTS Node.js version to ~/n.
# For bash, ksh, zsh, modifies the respective user-specific shell-initialization file to
# define env. variable N_PREFIX and append $N_PREFIX/bin to the $PATH.
curl -L https://git.io/n-install | bash  

---

I feel your pain. Installing Node.js to then install n to then manage Node.js installations is indeed a strange setup.

It would indeed be great to be able to install n by itself first.

I've created a project to support installation of n directly from GitHub; the only prerequisite beyond what n itself needs is git.

Note that you must first remove any pre-existing n / Node.js versions.
The target directory, ~/n by default, must either not yet exist or be empty.
For bash, ksh, and zsh, the relevant shell initialization file (e.g., ~/.bashrc) is automatically modified to define environment variable N_PREFIX and append $N_PREFIX/bin to the $PATH; for other shells, this must be done manually.

Aside from installing n directly from GitHub, it also installs helper scripts for updating n (n-update) and uninstalling it (n-uninstall).

Here are working examples; see the n-install GitHub repo for details:

• Installation with confirmation prompt to confirm installing to default location $HOME/n and installing the latest LTS Node.js version:

  curl -L https://git.io/n-install | bash
  

• Automated installation to the default location, with subsequent installation of the latest LTS (long-term support) and latest-overall Node.js versions, as well as the latest 4.1.x Node.js version:

  curl -L https://git.io/n-install | bash -s -- -y lts latest 4.1
  

• Automated installation to the default location, without subsequent installation of a Node.js version:

  curl -L https://git.io/n-install | bash -s -- -y -
  

• Automated installation to custom location ~/util/n, with subsequent installation of the latest LTS Node.js version:

  curl -L https://git.io/n-install | N_PREFIX=~/util/n bash -s -- -y
  

Alarum

Does n-install let me install multiple versions of n? :D – Shogunate

@btx9000: Yes: you can install 2 version of n right next to each other to upgrade to m. – Alarum

Answer 2

If you prefer, you can install n from source:

cd /tmp
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/tj/n
cd n
sudo make install

Then you can install the latest stable version of node as follows:

n stable

Bred

I just want to add that if you get an error during "make install", you may have had installed it before. Then you should call "make uninstall" first. – Aestival

make install fails with cp: cannot create regular file '/usr/local/bin/n': Permission denied. Maybe update the example to run with sudo? – Shogunate

Answer 3

The n module was created for convenience.

For example, if you wanted to update your version of Node.js from v0.8.0 to v0.10.20, would you rather download a package, extract and compile? Or would you rather type n 0.10.20 and have it instantly installed, while still retaining previous versions of Node for easy switching?

n suggests using npm to install it because n is a module. That is, npm is the easiest way to install it. Node modules have the functionality of being able to run in a shell when installed globally, so that function was utilized to make switching Node versions much easier.

Groschen

Of course you are right that it's much more convenient to just type n 0.10.20 and you're done, but why not use n for the initial install? This way, the very first install feels "special". E.g.: Is it guaranteed that n uses the same folders as the Node.js installer does? – Weaponeer

Because n is a module, and using npm is simply the easiest way to install it. As for your second question, Node.js binaries are stored in n's own directory, something like /usr/local/n/versions, otherwise you wouldn't be able to have multiple versions installed at the same time. – Groschen

But the initial install isn't installed there - isn't that a problem? Please forgive me if this questions may be a little naive, but I just wonder why it is and I'm curious ;-) – Weaponeer

Why would it be a problem if the initial install isn't there? – Groschen

Maybe I have not yet understood how n works, but supposed I switch to another than the initially installed version: I assume that n then puts the new version to /usr/local/bin, hence it overwrites the previous one. And without installing the initial version again, I can not switch back. Am I missing something? – Weaponeer

I'm not sure about the initial install, but for most cases n prev would just restore the previous version. Edit: It appears it also saves the initial install to /usr/local/n/versions/.prev when you first add a new version, as it does with any installation. Therefore n prev would also work in restoring the initial install. – Groschen

Terminology quibble, because it confused me at first: n (anything installed globally) is a package, not a module: "Most npm packages are modules, because they are libraries that you load with require. However, there's no requirement that an npm package be a module! Some only contain an executable command-line interface, and don't provide a main field for use in Node programs." - npmjs.org/doc/misc/npm-faq.html – Alarum

Answer 4

The README for n now has a longer section covering different installation approaches.

Like nvm, n is a bash script. npm is suggested as an easy way to install n if you already have npm, and then you can use n to change the Node.js version. But there are plenty of other approaches for a first install of Node.js. In brief and in no particular order...

You can install n using curl:

curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tj/n/master/bin/n -o n

Or clone the n repo and install from there:

make install

Or use n-install:

curl -L https://git.io/n-install | bash

Or Homebrew:

brew install n

Or MacPorts:

port install n

(Disclaimer: I am the current maintainer of n.)

Quicken

Answer 5

You can also install npm separately from Node.JS; e.g.: on a system without Node.JS:

git clone https://github.com/npm/npm
cd npm
./configure
make

Reference: NPM GitHub project

Maice

Answer 6

I had the same question, but have seen the light. 'n' is a handy tool and makes it simple to test different versions of node. Works great on Linux, but no matter how I try to install it on OS X (git clone, then npm install or using user456584's recommended method), when I run it, I always get the same results of "Error: no installed version", even though it installs into

/usr/local/lib/node_modules/n

and

/usr/local/bin/n

Frustrating because I've found this tool to be so handy on Linux.

Slavophile

:) this could be a comment maybe. – Acrospire

Crooner, @fraxture: If you installed only by cloning n's GitHub repo, then not finding any installed versions is expected: you must explicitly install them; e.g., with n stable to install the latest stable Node.js version. With neither n nor Node.js installed, you can also try curl -L http://git.io/n-install | bash, which includes installing the latest stable Node.js version - see my answer. – Alarum

If it wasn't clear already, the error message is telling you that n has not yet installed any versions of Node, not that n itself hasn't been installed. Obviously, running n without having n installed (i.e. on your PATH) would give you a bash/ksh/zsh error message like -bash: n: command not found instead of the error message you see. – Automatism

Answer 7

If you have included your default node bin in the $PATH variable like this

export PATH=/usr/local/Cellar/node/11.5.0/bin:$PATH

then n will not be able to active other node versions. Remove this export from the path and then you can manage the currently active node version by n.

Olympian

Answer 8

If you are using n then you should use below command

$ sudo n latest

Carson

This does not look like an answer to OP's questions at all. – Viviyan