Reputation: 58014

How to change to an older version of Node.js

I am running Node.js version v0.5.9-pre on Ubuntu 10.10.

I would like to be using version v0.5.0-pre.

How do I roll back to the older version of node?

Upvotes: 718

Answers (26)

Cameron Tacklind

Reputation: 7253

With `package.json` - The Maintainable and Portable Way 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Lets each project specify its own version

You can add node as a dependency in package.json and control which version is used for a particular project. Upon executing a package.json "script", npm (and yarn) will use that version to run the script instead of the globally installed Node.js.

The node package accomplishes this by downloading a node binary for your local system and puts it into the node_modules/.bin directory.

You can also do this with the npm (or yarn) packages but you'll need to set your PATH up specifically or use something like npx that handles it for you.

Ubuntu - The Official Way (manually) 😵

If you're on node 12 and want to downgrade to node 10, just remove node and follow the instructions for the desired version:

# Remove the version that is currently installed
sudo apt remove -y nodejs

# Setup sources for the version you want
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_10.x | sudo -E bash -

# (Re-)Install Node
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Windows - The Official Way (manually) 😵

I found myself wanting to downgrade to LTS on Windows from the bleeding edge. If you're not using a package manager like Chocolatey or a node version manager like nvm or n, just download the .msi for the version you want and install it. You might want to remove the currently installed version via "Add or remove programs" tool in Windows.

Windows Package Manager - `winget` 🎉🎉

The Open Source Windows Package Manager Way

winget install -e --id OpenJS.Nodejs -v 14.9.0

Chocolatey - The Independent Package Manager Way 🎉

Chocolatey is good for keeping installations up to date easily and it is a common way to install Node.js on Windows. I had to remove the bleeding edge version before installing the LTS version:

choco uninstall nodejs

choco install nodejs-lts

Node Version Manager - The "Screw it, I'll do it myself!" Way 😢😢😢😭😭😭😭😭

While not very portable or easily maintainable, some developers like manually switching which global version of node is active at any given point in time and think the official ways of doing this are too slow. There are two popular Npm packages that provide helpful CLI interfaces for selecting (and automatically installing) whichever version you want for your system: nvm and n. Using either is beyond the scope of this answer.

I highly recommend staying away from this option. Even though it's popular, it's an anti-pattern that is sure to cause headaches in the future. Sure, .nvmrc exists, but this is reinventing something that's already a part of Npm. Just npm i node the version you want.

Upvotes: 48

Caltor

Reputation: 2766

You could use Volta. This is a good solution for switching node and npm version, particularly on Windows, and you can pin a project to a specific version so it will automatically switch to that version when in the project folder.

Upvotes: 0

Guilherme Machado

Reputation: 411

This fix my problem

install new version node with nvm command nvm install v16.19.1

change current version node nvm use v16.19.1

check if the version is changed node -v

Upvotes: 3

champion-runner

Reputation: 1647

I faced a lot of issue with this and the only solution that worked for me is:

source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh

nvm install v[node_version]

nvm use v[node_version]

You can type nvm ls-remote to browse available versions.
Example: nvm install v14.21.3

Upvotes: 8

Haroon Hayat

Reputation: 455

The Easiest way I find to install node.js with a specific version:

First uninstall your node.js
Go to, https://nodejs.org/en/download/releases/ and find your desired version.

Select your version and click on the download button.
Download .msi file

Upvotes: 1

Bálint Molnár

Reputation: 23

As i can see this was asked a long time ago, but maybe it can be helpful for someone else. I can recommend this utility (NVS - Node Version Switcher) to someone who is searching for a way to switching between different versions of NodeJS:

https://github.com/jasongin/nvs

Upvotes: 0

Mustkeem K

Reputation: 8848

Update: Updated the answer because previous one was not relevant.

Follow below steps to update your node version.

1. Install nvm For this run below command in your terminal

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.37.2/install.sh | bash

Note: If above command did not work for you, you can choose another option to install it. I have added an answer for this here

2. Install specific node version using nvm

For this run

Replace 12.14.1 with your node version

nvm install 12.14.1

Note: If you are getting error of NVM not recognised then run below command and then run above again

source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh

3. Make the installed version default

Note: Replace 12.14.1 with your installed version.

nvm alias default 12.14.1

and

nvm use 12.14.1

4. Check node version

node -v

And that's it.

Extra

To check list of installed node versions -- run below command

nvm ls

Upvotes: 197

user31782

Reputation: 7587

Now the v0.5.0-pre has reached end of life. We can use npx to use any stable older version of node. E.g. the earliest stable version is 4.9.0.

npx -p [email protected] -- node -v

Upvotes: 3

alireza

Reputation: 121

if you want to go to the LTS version of node which is the stable one from the latest/current version simply run this in your directory.

npm i node

this will install the LTS version of node in your directory.

Upvotes: 1

Maheshvirus

Reputation: 7553

You need to install NVM for this.

For Mac

Edit .bash_profile using the below command.

nano .bash_profile

And add the following lines to .bash_profile

export NVM_DIR=~/.nvm
source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh

Save it. Exit the terminal and check the magic.

Then install the required version using the below command.

nvm install v14.18.0

If you want to check the installed node versions on your system. Use the below command.

nvm ls

If you want to use the specific version from the installed node versions. Use below command

nvm use 12.14.4

Upvotes: 12

Vitthal Mahale

Reputation: 54

follow the steps if u already install curl its work for me

sudo snap remove curl
sudo apt install curl
nvm install 12.2.0

Upvotes: 0

Raymond

Reputation: 57

If you are like, you already install node version you want but can't seem to switch to it, try this:

nvm use --delete-prefix <version>. npm shows the lates version installed but can't switch to it. If so, this is the output you will see:

You need to run "nvm install v16.2.0
Then run:nvm install <type the version you wish to use here>Your output should look like this: Downloading and installing node v16.2.0... Downloading https://nodejs.org/dist/v16.2.0/node-v16.2.0-linux-x64.tar.xz... ####################################################################### 100.0% Computing checksum with sha256sum Checksums matched! Now using node v16.2.0 (npm v7.13.0) Creating default alias: default -> v16.2.0
You are done! You can see the latest version by running: node -v

Upvotes: 2

Abdullah Numan

Reputation: 232

nvm install 0.5.0 #install previous version of choice

nvm alias default 0.5.0 #set it to default

nvm use default #use the new default as active version globally.

Without the last, the active version doesn't change to the new default. So, when you open a new terminal or restart server, the old default version remains active.

Upvotes: 1

HD..

Reputation: 1476

Use following commnad with your version number

nvm install v8.9
nvm alias default  v8.9
nvm use v8.9

Upvotes: 2

Animesh Rawat

Reputation: 345

Easiest way i found -

Uninstall current version
Download the appropriate .msi installer (x64 or x86) for the desired version from https://nodejs.org/download/release/

Upvotes: 2

russiansummer

Reputation: 1371

the easiest way i have found is to just use the nodejs.org site:

go to https://nodejs.org/en/download/releases/
find version you want and click download
on mac click the .pkg executable and follow the installation instructions (not sure what the correct executable is for windows)
be happy now that you are on the version of node you wanted

Upvotes: 17

Dennis

Reputation: 59607

*NIX (Linux, OS X, ...)

Use n, an extremely simple Node version manager that can be installed via npm.

Say you want Node.js v0.10.x to build Atom.

npm install -g n   # Install n globally
n 0.10.33          # Install and use v0.10.33

Usage:
n                            # Output versions installed
n latest                     # Install or activate the latest node release
n stable                     # Install or activate the latest stable node release
n <version>                  # Install node <version>
n use <version> [args ...]   # Execute node <version> with [args ...]
n bin <version>              # Output bin path for <version>
n rm <version ...>           # Remove the given version(s)
n --latest                   # Output the latest node version available
n --stable                   # Output the latest stable node version available
n ls                         # Output the versions of node available

Windows

Use nvm-windows, it's like nvm but for Windows. Download and run the installer, then:

nvm install v0.10.33         # Install v0.10.33
nvm use v0.10.33             # Use v0.10.33

Usage:
nvm install [version]        # Download and install [version]
nvm uninstall [version]      # Uninstall [version]
nvm use [version]            # Switch to use [version]
nvm list                     # List installed versions

Upvotes: 828

David EGP

Reputation: 7109

One way is to use NVM, the Node Version Manager.

Use following command to get nvm

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

You can find it at https://github.com/creationix/nvm

It allows you to easily install and manage multiple versions of node. Here's a snippet from the help:

Usage:
nvm install <version>       Download and install a <version>
nvm use <version>           Modify PATH to use <version>
nvm ls                      List versions (installed versions are blue)

Upvotes: 674

Abhishek Goel

Reputation: 19771

Why use any extension when you can do this without extension :)

Install specific version of node

sudo npm cache clean -f
sudo npm install -g n
sudo n stable

Specific version : sudo n 4.4.4 instead of sudo n stable

Upvotes: 99

chuck

Reputation: 43

run this:

rm -rf node_modules && npm cache clear && npm install

Node will install from whatever is cached. So if you clear everything out first, then NPM use 0.10.xx, it will revert properly.

Upvotes: 0

Gil Shapir

Reputation: 149

On windows 7 I used the general 'Uninstall Node.js' (just started typing in the search bottom left ,main menu field) followed by clicking the link to the older version which complies with the project, for instance: Windows 64-bit Installer: https://nodejs.org/dist/v4.4.6/node-v4.4.6-x64.msi

Upvotes: 6

JDBennett

Reputation: 1505

nvmw is no longer maintained, but I found another source that seems to be up to date (as of 1/4/17).

nvm-windows

It works. Allowed me to downgrade to 6.3.1

Upvotes: 10

codeX

Reputation: 5438

I had node version 6.4.0 .

As i am need of the older version 6.3.0 , i just installed the 6.3.0 version again in my system. node version downgraded automatically.

So, to downgrade the node version , Just install the older version of node js . It will get downgraded automatically from the higher version.

I tried in osx . It works like a charm .

Upvotes: 5

Shaun Luttin

Reputation: 141742

Windows

Downgrade Node with Chocolately

Install Chocolatey. Then run:

choco install nodejs.install -version 6.3.0

Chocolatey has lots of Node versions available.

Downgrade NPM

npm install -g [email protected]

Upvotes: 17

zeusstl

Reputation: 1865

For some reason Brew installs node 5 into a separate directory called node5.

The steps I took to get back to version 5 were: (You will need to look up standard brew installation/uninstallation, but otherwise this process is more straightforward than it looks.)

Install node5 using Brew standard installation, BUT don't brew link, yet.
Uninstall all other versions of node using brew unlink node and brew uninstall node. You might need to use --force to remove one of the versions.
Find the cellar folder on your computer
Delete the node folder in the cellar.
Rename the node5 folder to node.
Then, brew link node

You should be all set with node 5.

Upvotes: 2

Nathan Bashaw

Reputation: 551

Another good library for managing multiple versions of Node is N: https://github.com/visionmedia/n

Upvotes: 7

How to change to an older version of Node.js

Answers (26)

With package.json - The Maintainable and Portable Way 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Lets each project specify its own version

Ubuntu - The Official Way (manually) 😵

Windows - The Official Way (manually) 😵

Windows Package Manager - winget 🎉🎉

Chocolatey - The Independent Package Manager Way 🎉

Node Version Manager - The "Screw it, I'll do it myself!" Way 😢😢😢😭😭😭😭😭

*NIX (Linux, OS X, ...)

Windows

Windows

Downgrade Node with Chocolately

Downgrade NPM

Related Questions

With `package.json` - The Maintainable and Portable Way 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Windows Package Manager - `winget` 🎉🎉