NPM install the latest available version matching with nodejs version - node.js

On my server I am limited to Nodejs version 11.5 and wanted to install some packages there. Clearly the latest version of the packages does not work on the old Node version. Is there any way to tell npm to install an older version which matches with our Nodejs version? I want a way to automatically find the installable version of package and don't want to use trial and error to find the working package.
Thanks

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Is the upgrade of npm for node LTS recommended?

I have installed node LTS 14.17.2 via nodenv.
npm now tells me a newer version is available:
New major version of npm available! 6.14.13 → 7.19.1
My question is: Is it recommended to upgrade npm or should I stay with the version shipped with node LTS?
The npm cli is packaged with the node.js install as a convenience, but it is maintained by a different team of folks and has its own release cadence, so it can be updated even without installing new version of Node.js.
Read up on the new features and breaking changes of npm 7 on Github's Blog post about npm 7 and think about how it may affect your programs. You can always try it and switch back to an older version if you run into problems.
Generally, I suggest checking out the changelog for npm and to understand what has been updated and use that to help you decide. If there is a new breaking change that requires a new version of node, it should be indicated in the changelog.

Are there differences between the node packages installed by different versions of npm?

There are 2 versions of node.js - LTS and latest current version. When using npm install to install packages, are the packages installed independent of the node.js being used? Do different node.js versions install different versions of the packages?
No they don't. When you install a npm package, it has its own version but of course package's version and node's version affect the usability of these packages.So, you need to delete old version of node from your system files. One more thing, please do not install npm packages global.Because when you do that, next time maybe you can use it in a other project but when it is updated by creater, you won't be able to have new updates and features or as I said before it can't be compatible with the new version of node.

Latest compatible version for NPM and node

I am using nodist version 0.8.8 which is the latest one. By using this I installed latest node version 10.7.0 and latest NPM version 6.1.0. I assured it by reading the following document.
https://nodejs.org/en/download/releases/
Nw I surfed in Google to find whether NPM 6.2.0 is available? If it is I want to know the corresponding node version for it.
Node.js and NPM versions aren't directly connected, otherwise they would have matching versions.
Semantic versioning assumes that minor versions don't introduce breaking changes:
Given a version number MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH, increment the:
MAJOR version when you make incompatible API changes,
MINOR version when you add functionality in a backwards-compatible manner, and
PATCH version when you make backwards-compatible bug fixes.
This means that if NPM 6.1.0 works with Node 10.7.0, NPM 6.2.0 works with it, too.
Node version requirements are usually listed in package.json engines section, which can be checked locally or in GitHub repository.
npm package.json doesn't contain this section, so actual Node version that is suitable for it has to be deduced.
npm code base currently uses ES6 but no higher. Latest Node 6 release covers 99% of ES6 spec, it's expected that NPM 6.2.0 is fully workable with Node 6.14 or higher. Generally, it's certain that latest even major version (Node 10, as of now) doesn't have problems with latest NPM release.
You can use nvm which is node version manager
With nvm you have the option to install the latest npm compatible with your currently installed node
use this link to install nvm:
https://github.com/creationix/nvm
Node and npm are independent tools. You can very well install different versions of either.
Use
npm i -g npm#latest
to get the latest npm installed with your node.
use node -v and npm -v to get respective version informations.

What's the difference between ">=" and "*" in npm if current installed version is the latest

Suppose I've installed the latest package, which is 0.10.12 and then I have two options to specify the version in package.json - 'somelib':'>=0.10.12' or '*'. I understand that the first options says that any version above 0.10.12 should be installed, if there is any. The * says that the newest version available will be installed. But if I run npm update somelib, won't they both install the newest version? If so, then why use the former?
Running npm install will install the newest version of the module in both cases.
The difference shows in dependencies
>= it's required to have the version of the module or newer.
* it doesnt matter at all wich version of the module you have. Any will
do.
See npm package documentation

Why does Node.js's Mac Package ship with old version of npm? any issues?

I just installed the current version of node (3/14/16) 4.4.0 directly from Node.js via a Mac Package (the new suggested way, previously I installed via Homebrew).
I'm curious if anyone knows why the package ships with npm version 2.14.20, the book I'm going through suggests updating npm manually with the command
sudo npm install npm -g
The version I see is now 3.8.1, that's quite a large difference hence my question, is it safe/smart to be this far ahead of what Node.js is officially putting out with their Mac package file?
EDIT:
It appears it's common for Node's recommended v4.x install to come with npm 2.x, the question that remains is, will there be any negative side effects of using the newest npm but an older version of node?

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