How to properly upgrade node using nvm

Is it possible to upgrade node right in place, instead of manually installing the latest stable version?

I have installed node.js version 5.0 with nvm, but now I want to update it to 5.4. I'm trying to avoid having to manually reinstall all of my global packages (e.g. by running npm install -g grunt-cli bower yo yoman-angular-generator blabla blablablabla...).

This may work:

nvm install NEW_VERSION --reinstall-packages-from=OLD_VERSION

For example:

nvm install 6.7 --reinstall-packages-from=6.4

then, if you want, you can delete your previous version with:

nvm uninstall OLD_VERSION

Where, in your case, NEW_VERSION = 5.4 OLD_VERSION = 5.0

Alternatively, try:

nvm install stable --reinstall-packages-from=current

You can more simply run one of the following commands:

Latest version:

nvm install node --reinstall-packages-from=node

Stable (LTS) version: (if currently in use)

nvm install "lts/*" --reinstall-packages-from="$(nvm current)"

This will install the appropriate version and reinstall all packages from the currently used node version.

This saves you from manually handling the specific versions.

---

Kudos to @m4js7er for commenting about the LTS version.

>⚡ TWO Simple Solutions:

To install the latest version of node and reinstall the old version packages just run the following command.

nvm install node --reinstall-packages-from=node

To install the latest lts (long term support) version of node and reinstall the old version packages just run the following command.

nvm install --lts /* --reinstall-packages-from=node

> Here's a GIF animation to support this answer:

>!

if you have 4.2 and want to install 5.0.0 then

nvm install v5.0.0 --reinstall-packages-from=4.2

the answer of gabrielperales is right except that he missed the "=" sign at the end. if you don't put the "=" sign then new node version will be installed but the packages won't be installed.

source: sitepoint

Here are the steps that worked for me for Ubuntu OS and using nvm

Go to nodejs website and get the last LTS version (for example the version will be: x.y.z)

nvm install x.y.z
# In my case current version is: 14.15.4 (and had 14.15.3)

After that, execute nvm list and you will get list of node versions installed by nvm.

Now you need to switch to the default last installed one by executing:

nvm alias default x.y.z

List again or run nvm --version to check:

Update: sometimes even if i go over the steps above it doesn't work, so what i did was removing the symbolic links in /usr/local/bin

cd /usr/local/bin
sudo rm node npm npx

And relink:

sudo ln -s $(which node) /usr/local/bin/node
sudo ln -s $(which npm) /usr/local/bin/npm
sudo ln -s $(which npx) /usr/local/bin/npx

Node.JS to install a new version.

Step 1 : NVM Install

npm i -g nvm

Step 2 : NODE Newest version install

nvm install *.*.*(NodeVersion)

Step 3 : Selected Node Version

nvm use *.*.*(NodeVersion)

Finish

Bash alias for updating current active version:

alias nodeupdate='nvm install $(nvm current | sed -rn "s/v([[:digit:]]+).*/\1/p") --reinstall-packages-from=$(nvm current)'

The part sed -rn "s/v([[:digit:]]+).*/\1/p" transforms output from nvm current so that only a major version of node is returned, i.e.: v13.5.0 -> 13.

For Windows 11 this worked for me on cmd, used with admin rights:

Prerequisite, in case you just installed NVM, is to open a new cmd window after nvm installation.

See installation instructions here: https://github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows

1. Get installed versions, using

nvm list

2. Get current version

nvm current

3. Install latest version

nvm install latest

4. Check installed versions to see for newer version, again using

nvm list

5. Set current version to the latest (cmd with admin rights), you just installed in the previous step

nvm use PUT_VERSION_NUMBER_TO_BE_USED

You can check again if the change was successful using

nvm list

6. Remove old version, if no longer needed

nvm remove PUT_VERSION_NUMBER_TO_BE_REMOVED

If you want to use the LTS version, install using

nvm install lts