Install nodenv on Ubuntu

README.md

Installing nodenv on ubuntu

nodenv is a great tool, but its installation on Ubuntu is never smooth for me. Here are instructions to install nodenv along with node-build and node-aliases plugins.

ℹ️ note - nodenv recommands updating the PATH though not all programs run in a shell. i prefer adding symlinks to the nodenv binary and shims to make it available everywhere.

The script can be pasted into a terminal as is

# install the base app
git clone https://github.com/nodenv/nodenv.git ~/.nodenv

# add nodenv to system wide bin dir to allow executing it everywhere
sudo ln -vs ~/.nodenv/bin/nodenv /usr/local/bin/nodenv

# compile dynamic bash extension to speed up nodenv - this can safely fail
cd ~/.nodenv
src/configure && make -C src || true
cd ~/

# install plugins
mkdir -p "$(nodenv root)"/plugins
git clone https://github.com/nodenv/node-build.git "$(nodenv root)"/plugins/node-build
git clone https://github.com/nodenv/nodenv-aliases.git $(nodenv root)/plugins/nodenv-aliases

# install a node version to bootstrap shims
nodenv install 14.7.0
nodenv global 14

# make shims available system wide
sudo ln -vs $(nodenv root)/shims/* /usr/local/bin/

# make sure everything is working
node --version
npm --version
npx --version

Works out of the box - thank you !

good job!

Thanks for the guide.

I was trying to setup nodenv on multiple users. I've added nodenv to my main user and added the symlink to /usr/local/bin/nodenv. I can call nodenv from other users, but apparently the plugins aren't visible to nodenv from the other users. I have to add the plugins to $HOME/.nodenv/plugins on all other accounts.

Is there a better alternative to that? Do I need to install it elsewhere?

I've decided to install nodenv on each user seperately and add it to the path.