Alison Aquinas logoAlison's LLM Plugins

nvm

Included in pluginci-cdView on GitHub ↗

Files

SKILL.mdagentsreferences

Install

Install the containing plugin
/plugin install ci-cd@llm-skills
Invoke this skill after installation
/ci-cd:nvm
Download nvm-skill.zip
This skill is bundled inside ci-cd. Install the plugin once, then Claude Code can use any of its included skills. Browse the full plugin repository at github.com/alisonaquinas/llm-ci-dev.

SKILL.md

name: nvm description: Manage multiple Node.js versions with nvm. Use when tasks mention nvm, Node.js version switching, .nvmrc, or managing multiple Node versions per project.

nvm

Intent Router

RequestReferenceLoad When
Install nvm, shell profile integration, verify installreferences/install-and-setup.mdnvm needs to be installed or the shell integration is not working
Install/use/alias/list/uninstall Node versionsreferences/command-cookbook.mdSpecific nvm commands are needed
.nvmrc project file, default alias, auto-use on cdreferences/nvmrc-and-defaults.mdProject-level Node version pinning is the topic
Lazy loading, fish shell, Windows alternativesreferences/shell-integration.mdShell startup performance or non-bash shells are the topic

Quick Start

# Install Node.js LTS
nvm install --lts

# Use a specific version
nvm use 20

# Pin version for a project
echo "20" > .nvmrc
nvm use   # reads .nvmrc automatically

# List installed versions
nvm ls

Core Command Tracks

  • Install a version: nvm install 20 / nvm install --lts
  • Switch version: nvm use 20 / nvm use --lts
  • Set default: nvm alias default 20
  • List installed: nvm ls
  • List available: nvm ls-remote
  • Run with version: nvm exec 18 node app.js
  • Remove a version: nvm uninstall 16

Safety Guardrails

  • Always commit .nvmrc to version control so all team members use the same Node version.
  • Set nvm alias default <version> after installing to ensure new shells use the correct version.
  • Never rely on the system node when nvm is active — use nvm alias system only for explicit fallback.
  • In CI, install the version specified in .nvmrc with nvm install rather than hardcoding a version in the pipeline.

Workflow

  1. Install the desired Node.js version with nvm install <version>.
  2. Activate it with nvm use <version>.
  3. Set it as default with nvm alias default <version> to persist across new shells.
  4. Pin the project version by writing <version> to .nvmrc and committing it.
  5. In CI, run nvm install (reads .nvmrc) followed by nvm use.
# Troubleshoot: nvm command not found in a new shell session
export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"
nvm --version

Related Skills

  • npm — Node.js package manager used alongside nvm
  • yarn — alternative package manager for Node.js projects
  • pnpm — disk-efficient Node.js package manager
  • asdf — universal version manager that also handles Node.js

References

← Back to marketplace