How to upgrade nodejs to latest version - node.js

I'd like to upgrade from the LTS to 8.x. I need to integrate this into an existing project. What's the best way to do that so that my project continues to work no problems after the upgrade?
(I'm on windows).

Since you are using windows it is easy to upgrade to the latest node js version.
Just reinstall node from the .msi in Windows from the node website.
That will do the trick.
Your project will not be affected after the upgradations.
Also, npm will be upgraded as well.
It's safe to do the following after the upgradations.
npm cache clean
npm update -g
EDIT
I just want to add the use of nvm that manages multiple node versions without any conflicts to each other versions.
You could look into it here

Related

Unable to downgrade Node to specific version

I am building a sample application in which I need to use Node Version v9.11.2 and npm 4.0.0. Currently I have Node Version v16.4.0 installed on my system. I tried to install the specific version by uninstalling the latest version and installing version 9.11.2 from official website
Problem: The problem is I can uninstall the latest version without any problem but when I try to install older version(9.11.2) the command gets opened and it does nothing. I also tried to install the older version using cli commands ie. npm install -g node#9.11.2, it installs the version but on checking the version using node -v, it still shows the latest version(16.4.0)
Below are the screenshots for better understanding
Installed version 9.11.2 but showing 16.4.0
Any Solution please ?
Is using docker a possibility? If so you can simply get a docker image of the required version and use if from there.
Another way is to use NVM which is a really useful tool to manage nodejs versions. I'm including their github repo for your convenience:
https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm
A good option is to use NVM: https://github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows (Windows) or https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm (unix, macOS). With NVM you can enable different versions of node on the same machine and switch from one to another, usually it takes care of managing the installed packages and adding them to its own management system.

Co-Existience of two different NodeJS for same project

I am quite new to NodeJS and am planning to upgrade NodeJS version for my current project. The most recent NodeJS LTS is installed using NVM.
I need to keep switching between the current LTS that i am using and the new LTS that has been installed. I understand that i can do 'NVM use' for this purpose. npm-shrinkwrap.json is being used to lock down the npm package dependencies.
I am planning to follow the below approach both in my dev machine and build machine;
Is it okay? If not, please suggest a best approach.
nvm use latest_LTS
Update the package.json to pick the version which is supported by
latest_LTS
npm install
generate testing_build
Whenever i need to generate a build for current release (with the previous LTS NodeJS)
nvm use currently_used_LTS
clear the node modules
npm install (Release npm-shrinkwrap.json)
generate release_build
Thanks
In theory that should work.
However have you considered the option of just doing a point release for the current release_build that does nothing except version-bump node?
You may find (after re-running your tests) that the latest version of node is backwards compatable with release_build (or only requires minor fixes), and you can simplify your life by porting everything to the latest node version, rather than constantly switching

What exactly is the relation between the versions of npm and node when installing them with nvm

tl;dr
Is there is a reason that I shouldn't do the following; Install and manage packages with a version of npm that is different (much newer) from the npm version that comes with the node version I am going to be using to run my app.
longer
Some context why I am asking. I have to work with a service that supports only node 0.10.32 (I know, don't ask) and an app that was written some time ago. We need to add some functionality and unfortunately when I try to run the codebase locally it does not because some dependency of some dependency updated the minor version and they introduced const or fat arrow notation (=>). We had used shrinkwrap to lock down the versions but something must have slipped.
I have spent days on this and at some point it came to me that the problem lies with the package manager not doing what I want. So I managed to install the packages I wanted and shrinkwrapped it using npm#3.10.10 which is what I get when I use node#6.12.3 (nvm use 6.12.3). And when I want to run the app I just switch to the node#0.10.32 to make sure that is going to work on the service.
Can anyone think of any problems with this solution or a reason I shouldn't do that?
Side question
I noticed that when installing node versions using nvm, they usually come with a specific version of npm? What is the relation of those versions? How are they decided? Was it the latest npm version along with that node version when it was released? Is it the latest version of npm that can run with that specific version of node?

Can I upgrade my Sails project to a new version of nodejs? If possible, how do I do it?

I have a project in sails with nodejs version 0.12.7 I would like to update my project to node 7.0.0
You shouldn't have to upgrade your project. You just need to upgrade Node. Here's a tutorial on how to install a new version of Node alongside the old version, so that if anything doesn't work with the new one, you can switch to the old one.
I'd suggest copying the project to some other place, cleaning node_modules and doing npm install to see how it works.
You may get problems with new versions of npm modules if their API changed so you may need to specify exact versions of modules that are known to work in your package.json.

How to upgrade node.js on Windows?

I already have Node.js v0.8.0 running on Windows. Can I just run the latest installer to upgrade it to v0.8.4? I am afraid it will break existing third party modules on my machine.
Yes, you just install the latest version. Generally you shouldn't have any compatibility problems if you are already using the same major version (e.g. Version 0.8.x). If you are concerned about changes, you can always check the changelog for each version (link to changelog is on node.js download page at nodejs.org). That should tell you of any big changes (i.e API changes, etc).
For the record, I have just gone through the process, and it is painless even if you upgrade to another major version.
I have moved from 0.8 to 0.10, using the .msi package, overwriting the one installed on my system. Package problems were all fixed with npm update -g. Worked like a charm.
In case it does not work like a charm:
npm cache clean usually fixes the problem. Once the cache is empty, just run npm update -g again.
In case you really run into trouble:
Delete the modules you have installed globally, then reinstall them. Here's how:
Take stock of what you have:
npm list -g --depth=0 lists all top-level packages, with version numbers.
npm list -g --parseable --depth=0 > npm-global-modules.txt writes them to a file in your cwd.
Any strange stuff you didn't install yourself has probably been installed by another module (rare, but I have seen it happen). Remove those modules from the list. Also remove the module "npm".
In an editor, format the output for the command line by replacing \n?[^\n]+[\\/] (regex) with a single space.
(I didn't get this to work with findstr in a pipe, hence the roundtrip to the editor. You can also do it manually, of course ;)
Delete all modules. On Windows, delete (or rename) the %appdata%\npm directory. For other OS, see Command to remove all npm modules globally?
Reinstall the modules with npm install -g [your module list here]. Don't forget to npm cache clean before you do it.
I don't have experience with node on Windows, but I have just upgraded node & modules on my Mac, so this is just a general answer:
If you install v0.8, you might break your existing node modules, if they use deprecated functions, etc. The problem is that npm only checks your version of node while modules are being installed, not at run-time.
To be on the safe side, you need to find the global node_modules folder on your machine, back it up to somewhere, then delete and reinstall the modules. You will need to do the same thing for the node_modules folders in the apps you are using. (Assuming you have package.json files, reinstalling these should be easy.)
In practice, I don't think any of the modules I was using were actually incompatible. Good luck.
Yes. You can upgrade your node.js version to the latest by running the installer for latest node.js version at https://nodejs.org/en/. I upgraded mine from 4.4.4 to 8.11.2 running the installer.
Unless you're using a module that relies on an actual bug that was present in 0.8.0 and was fixed by 0.8.4, you're OK. There were no API changes in between those two versions (and the node team is too smart to introduce such changes in a minor release).
Currently upgrading to 4.4.*. I just used to installer from the nodejs.org website and that upgraded everything works just fine.
Just go to nodejs site & download it. You can install it directly without any hesitation. If you have any dependency on earlier version then check change logs.
JUST GO TO
nodejs.org
INSTALL THE LATEST STABLE VERSION (Recommended For Most Users)
and then run
npm install node
Now, you are good to go
You can even check the version of NodeJS using command
node --version
Best way to install node on windows is by using nvm-windows, so you can quickly switch between versions if you need to. This is analogous to the best way of installing node on linux and max, ie with nvm.
But Benjen is right (how could he not be with all his scouting experience) that you can just install a different version of node, and your version will update. Your npm dependencies may have to be reinstalled, and any extensions that aren't managed by npm may need to be recompiled, but this will be true no matter how you change your node version.

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