Setup NVM in your organization/admin system's like a pro

NVM is an incredibly useful tool for developers, and we owe a big thanks to Corey Butler for creating a version of NVM specifically for Windows users, as the original NVM was designed for Linux/Unix systems. This tool allows developers to manage multiple Node.js versions effortlessly. In professional environments, whether you're working in an organization or as a freelancer, it's common to handle multiple projects—each potentially requiring a specific Node.js version. This is where NVM becomes invaluable, simplifying the process of switching between Node.js versions as needed.

After installing NVM on my organization's Windows system, I noticed some key points worth sharing.

This post focuses on Windows users, but you can explore similar setups for Mac or Linux/Unix systems.
From what I’ve observed, these issues are unlikely to occur on Mac or Linux/Unix systems.

After completing the installation, I started using NVM commands like nvm install, nvm ls, and others to manage Node.js versions.

nvm ls
nvm install <node-version>

However, the headache began with the nvm use command, as it requires Admin Access to create a Node.js folder on the organization's system.

nvm use <node-version>

At that point, the nvm use command would throw errors like
exit status 1: Access denied or exit status 5: Access denied.

After extensive research, I discovered how the nvm use command works behind the scenes. In a nutshell, it internally calls the mklink command, which is used to create symbolic links between directories. On both admin and non-admin systems, the mklink command is executed, and the full command looks something like this:

mklink /D nodejs <node-version-folder path>

The command mklink uses the /D option to create symbolic directories, which requires full admin privileges. This is where the issue arises—on non-admin systems, nvm use works fine, but on admin-protected systems with additional security layers, it fails.

In short, this is a drawback of NVM on admin-protected systems: every time you run nvm use, it prompts for admin privileges.

The Solution:
After some research, I found a way to tackle this issue. Instead of using the /D option with mklink, which requires admin rights, you can use the /J option. This creates a symbolic junction between directories and does not need admin privileges. However, it comes with some limitations below are attached images for limitations.

Image from stackoverflow

Let start setup NVM in our Organization/Admin system's

Step 1:

create folder of nvm4w or any name you like in any drive which you have right to read-write or full access. And there are two options

• Option 1: Let’s say if you have only one drive i.e. C: or any character drive. And it that C:/Users/<your_name> create folder of nvm4w or any name you like.
• Option 2: If you have two or more drive let say C: and D: drive or any character-based drive. Then it better for you to create folder on D: drive i.e. D:/nvm4w or any name you like.

Step 2:

After creating a folder with full control access then download the latest nvm-noinstall.zip file from this link
After downloading done extract zip file and name the folder “nvm” and paste that folder or dir into the folder which you have create from Step 1

Step 3:

One step 2 done then configure environment path for you nvm. Add below path and variable both in user and system variable

NVM_HOME: Drive_name:\<folder_name>\nvm  (i.e. D:\SOFTWARE\nvm4w\nvm)
NVM_SYMLINK: Drive_name:\<folder_name>\nodejs (i.e. D:\SOFTWARE\nvm4w\nodejs)

Click on new button to add above variables name and it value for both user and system variables

And register the above two name into the path both in user and system variables section and save it:

NB: Reset the system which is optional in most case.

Step 4:

Once it done open command prompt and run nvm -v to check whether it is working or not. Now need a final touch in order to make nvm install or ls command work in your system. Create a settings.txt file where your nvm folder reside in nvm4w or any name you have mentioned which you have created from Step 1 and add below contents.

root: Drive_name:\<folder_name>\ nvm4w\nvm  (i.e. D:\SOFTWARE\nvm4w\nvm)
path: Drive_name:\<folder_name>\ nvm4w\nodejs  (i.e. D:\SOFTWARE\nvm4w\nodejs)
arch: 64
proxy: none

Congratulation you have done with your NVM setup fully🎉

Now, you might wonder: "We've set up and configured NVM, but how do we actually use it? The default nvm use command still won’t work without admin privileges. Was all this setup pointless?"

Here’s where the magic happens! I created an alternative mklink command using the /J option to override the default nvm use command.

There are two ways to use this new approach:

1. Manual Process: Run the mklink command manually each time you want to switch Node.js versions from command prompt.

mklink /J nodejs <your_folder_path>\<node-version>

e.g. mklink /J nodejs D:\SOFTWARE\nvm4w\nvm\v18.20.4

1. Automated Process: Create a nvm-use.bat script and add below code to automate the task, making it easier to execute from the command line. This ensures you can work with NVM on admin-protected systems without hitting privilege issues. _NB: Put this nvm-use.bat file into nvm4w folder which you have from Step 1.

@echo off
setlocal

:: Set NVM and Nodejs path from environment variables
set myNVMPath=%NVM_HOME%
set myNodeJSPath=%NVM_SYMLINK%

:: Get list of installed nodejs version in nvm directory
echo List of installed nodejs version:
nvm ls

:: Prompt the user for the new nodejs directory path
set /p newVersion="Enter the full version (e.g. 20.15.0) for nodejs: "

if "%newVersion%"=="^C" (
    exit /b 1
)

:: Check if the newVersion is not empty
if "%newVersion%"=="" (
    echo You must enter a version.
    exit /b 1
)

if exist "%myNVMPath%\v%newVersion%\" (
    :: Remove the existing nodejs directory
    echo Removing existing nodejs directory...
    rd /s /q "%myNodeJSPath%"

    :: Create the symbolic link
    echo Creating symbolic link to %newVersion%...
    mklink /j "%myNodeJSPath%" "%myNVMPath%\v%newVersion%"

) else (
    echo "%newVersion%" version does not exist.
    exit /b 1
)

:: Check if the mklink command was successful
if errorlevel 1 (
    echo Failed to create symbolic link.
    exit /b 1
) 

echo Operation completed successfully.
endlocal

Then configure bat file path into environment user variables.

And register NVM4W variable name into path field

After setting up nvm4w path then open command prompt and run nvm-use to check it working or not.

PS: I'm open for questions, information, correction and new thoughts