How to Install NVM on macOS

Setting Up NVM on macOS (One-Time Setup)

If you're a developer working with Node.js, managing multiple versions of Node across different projects can get messy. That's where NVM (Node Version Manager) comes in a handy tool that lets you easily install, switch, and manage multiple versions of Node.js.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through a one-time setup of NVM on your macOS system.

Step 1: Open Your Terminal

By default, macOS uses the Zsh shell, so we’ll work with that.

Open the Terminal app. You can find it via Spotlight (Cmd + Space, then type Terminal).

Step 2: Go to Your Home Directory

Make sure you're in your user’s home directory:

List all files (including hidden ones) to check if .zshrc already exists:

ls -a

Step 3: Create .zshrc If It Doesn’t Exist

touch .zshrc

This file is where you'll store shell configurations, including NVM-related settings.

Step 4: Install NVM

Use the official installation script from the NVM GitHub repository:
https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.3/install.sh | bash

Step 5: Apply the Configuration

Once installed, you need to reload your shell configuration so NVM is available in the terminal:

source ~/.zshrc

To confirm everything went smoothly, run:

nvm --version