NVM Node Version Manager

Node Version Manager, commonly known as NVM, is a version manager for Node.js designed to be installed per-user and invoked per-shell, enabling developers to quickly install and use different versions of Node.js side by side via the command line. With over 93,000 GitHub stars and 10,200 forks, it is the most widely adopted Node.js version manager in the JavaScript ecosystem. The tool works on any POSIX-compliant shell including sh, dash, ksh, zsh, and bash, running natively on Unix, macOS, and Windows Subsystem for Linux. Core commands include nvm install for downloading and installing specific Node.js versions or release lines, nvm use for switching the active version in the current shell session, nvm run for executing scripts with a specified version, nvm exec for running arbitrary commands under a target version, nvm ls for listing installed versions, and nvm alias default for setting the system-wide default. The .nvmrc file mechanism enables project-level version pinning, where NVM automatically reads the file and switches to the specified version when a developer enters the project directory, ensuring consistent Node.js versions across team members and CI environments. The tool supports Long-Term Support releases, nightly and release candidate builds, io.js historical releases, system Node.js fallback, custom binary mirrors for environments behind firewalls, offline installation from cached tarballs, and migration of global npm packages when installing new versions. Shell integration is provided through bash completion for version numbers and subcommands, automatic activation scripts for bash and zsh, and fish shell support through community plugins. The project holds the Core Infrastructure Initiative Best Practices Badge at passing level. Maintained by Jordan Harband with contributions from Tim Caswell and hundreds of community developers. MIT licensed.