NVM doesn't stick to alias default with ZSH (oh-my-zsh)

Question

I had NVM installed already, then I discovered oh-my-zsh and installed that. It seems to have an nvm plugin, which I enabled in .zshrc.

Also I put this in my .zprofile

export NVM_DIR="/Users/me/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && . "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"  # This loads nvm

Now I can use nvm, but whenever I set alias default to a different version, nvm switches back the next time I open the shell.

$ iojs -v
v1.2.0
$ which iojs
/Users/me/.nvm/versions/io.js/v1.2.0/bin/iojs
$ nvm use 1.5.1
Now using io.js v1.5.1
$ nvm alias default iojs v1.5.1
default -> iojs (-> iojs-v1.5.1)
$ which iojs
/Users/me/.nvm/versions/io.js/v1.5.1/bin/iojs

Then after opening a new shell:

$ which iojs
/Users/me/.nvm/versions/io.js/v1.2.0/bin/iojs

Could my old bash install somehow mess things up? I'm on OSX btw but I guess it doesn't make a difference.

--------- edit ------ More output as requested

➜  ~  nvm version
iojs-v1.2.0
➜  ~  ls $NVM_DIR/alias
default
➜  ~  cat $NVM_DIR/alias/default
iojs
➜  ~  nvm alias iojs
iojs -> iojs-v1.5 (-> iojs-v1.5.1) (default)
➜  ~  nvm alias $(cat $NVM_DIR/alias/default)
iojs -> iojs-v1.5 (-> iojs-v1.5.1) (default)

I just found out why it's reverting to 1.2.0 I think. During installation of oh-my-zsh it seems to have taken the active PATH from my Bash shell and copied it to the .zshrc file including the active nvm path at the time:

/Users/me/.nvm/versions/io.js/v1.2.0/bin

But after removing that from PATH, now my zsh can't find any Node binary after launching a new shell. So still the question is I quess, why isn't the NVM setting remembered? I can still set it in the active shell like before, it just doesn't stick.

I'm now thinking there might be something fundamentally wrong with my oh-my-zsh intstallation. I have the git plugin enabled for example in zshrc but the command "gst" is not a valid alias.

plugins=(git, gitflow, nvm, brew, tmux)

➜  ~  gst
zsh: command not found: gst

Bronchi

"whenever I set alias default to a different version" Could you explain in detail what this means? (What command did you run?) – Perrine

Ok I thought is was clear for nvm users but I've added the commands – Bronchi

Please attach output of nvm version, ls $NVM_DIR/alias, cat $NVM_DIR/alias/default, nvm alias iojs, and nvm alias $(cat $NVM_DIR/alias/default) after opening a new shell. – Perrine

Okay, I agree that everything looks normal. My aliases look the same but I have no problem loading the right default. I would suggest first turn off the nvm plugin and test again (I'm not with my computer right now so I can't see the plugin's source code, but I personally don't have it enabled.) After that, try reinstalling oh-my-zsh and nvm. – Perrine

Answer 1

Add below to the end of .zshrc

export NVM_DIR=~/.nvm
source $(brew --prefix nvm)/nvm.sh

Please note that must be in the end, i don't know why

Homochromous

worked for me. Though for ubuntu I used source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh – Blackman

Thanks for the info. Just so others know; this doesn't need to be at the end of my config in order to work. – Ozoniferous

Please note that must be in the end, i don't know why This tip saves my day! – Condign

This is the exact content of my .zshrc file and it's still not working. Keeps resetting my default version on every new terminal window. – Ad

Answer 2

I have it working now. Reinstalled oh-my-zsh.

I am not sure what has changed. It seems I do need to keep the nvm plugin enabled for it to work.

Without the plugin I tried putting the nvm startup command in .zprofile

export NVM_DIR="/Users/me/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && . "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"  # This loads nvm

Although the file is loaded on creating a new shell, it didn't seem to enable NVM properly.

Also I noticed that if I make a mistake in the zsh plugin configuration in .zshrc, there is no error and the plugins simply won't work. So this is something to be careful about I guess. For example I used comma's by accident and then the plugins break without warning:

plugins=(git, gitflow, nvm)

Bronchi

Answer 3

I am using OSX 10.11.6 with Hyper and Oh My Zsh. I had to uninstall nvm that was installed through homebrew, reinstall it through the curl command, and then add this line to the very bottom for it to work correctly. I am sure that is something with all of my plugins/setting/blah but this is what made it work for me:

source "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"

at the very end of my the ~/.zshrc file

Galanti

Answer 4

As noted by other users, adding this to my ~/.zshrc file solved the problem.

# NVM Stuff
export NVM_DIR=~/.nvm
source $NVM_DIR/nvm.sh

Just wanted to emphasize that it was not working till I placed it close to the end of the file. Probably something in the middle messes up the configuration and my nvm was using a separate context for each folder.

Placing in the end solved the problem for me.

Etem

Answer 5

If you have this line inside your ~/.zshrc file

export PATH="/usr/local/opt/node@8/bin:$PATH"

remove that line or comment out in the file.

Protuberancy

Answer 6

As stated by brew when you install nvm, "Add the following to ~/.bash_profile or your desired shell configuration file:"

export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
[ -s "$(brew --prefix)/opt/nvm/nvm.sh" ] && . "$(brew --prefix)/opt/nvm/nvm.sh" # This loads nvm
[ -s "$(brew --prefix)/opt/nvm/etc/bash_completion" ] && . "$(brew --prefix)/opt/nvm/etc/bash_completion" # This loads nvm bash_completion

Even though .zprofile is the equivalent of .bash_profile, for some reason, the aliases are disregarded if you add the lines to .zprofile. So add them to .zshrc instead.

See https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nvm which has the latest version of these lines.

If that doesn't work... some people seem to be having success adding something to their PATH: https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/issues/1703#issuecomment-356221842.

Dewhurst

Answer 7

With Linux (Ubuntu 20.04 - 23.04)

With your favorite editor, you edit ~/.zshrc

nano ~/.zshrc

At the end of the file your add:

# NVM
export NVM_DIR=~/.nvm
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && . "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"

And then you run:

source ~/.zshrc

Maestoso

Answer 8

This worked for me when I added to the ~/.zprofile

export NVM_DIR=~/.nvm
source $(brew --prefix nvm)/nvm.sh

Pyrone