Uninstalling the currently active version of node.js with nvm

node.js npm uninstallation nvm
James Newton picture James Newton · Nov 11, 2017 · Viewed 33.3k times · Source

On Ubuntu 16.04, I mistakenly used root to install nvm, and then to install node.js 8.8.1 via nvm. I also used nvm alias default 8.8.1, thinking it would correct my error.

Now I would like to:

  1. Remove the default alias
  2. Uninstall node 8.8.1
  3. Uninstall npm 4.8.5, which came along with node
  4. Uninstall nvm
  5. Reinstall everything correctly for the right non-sudo user

It looks like I've succeeded with the first part:

# nvm unalias default
Deleted alias default - restore it with `nvm alias "default" "8.8.1"`

But nvm refuses to uninstall node 8.8.1, because it is the only version installed:

# nvm uninstall 8.8.1                                                                                                                             
nvm: Cannot uninstall currently-active node version, v8.8.1 (inferred from 8.8.1).

I am guessing that I first need to disactivate node 8.8.1, but I see nothing in the output of nvm --help which would appear to do this.

What steps do I need to take to completely remove node.js, npm and nvm from the machine before re-installing everything correctly?

Answer

Shar picture Shar · Nov 12, 2017

First type 

$ nvm deactivate

Then type 

$ nvm uninstall 8.8.1

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