When I install node 0.10.33 from the msi ( http://nodejs.org/download/ ), I get an old version of npm (1.4.28). How can I upgrade npm on Windows?
npm install -g npm
does not work; I still have the old npm.
You need to follow the Windows upgrade instructions ( https://docs.npmjs.com/try-the-latest-stable-version-of-npm )
tl;dr - npm -g install npm does work, but the old version of npm is still in your PATH.
To fix this, do one of these:
Option 2: remove both of
C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\npm
C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\npm.cmd
Or
Option 3: Open cmd.exe as administrator, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs and
then run the installation without -g:
npm install npm#latest
*There is an npm package that automate this Option 3:
npm install -g npm-win-upgrade
We at Microsoft Open Source wrote a small tool to automate the process outlined above. You can find it here or just install and run it by executing the following in an elevated command prompt / PowerShell:
npm install -g npm-windows-upgrade
npm-windows-upgrade
There May be many ways to update your npm in Windows
Way 1
Open you power shell as Administrator and run following commands step by step.
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser -Force
npm install -g npm-windows-upgrade
npm-windows-upgrade
Here you can select your preferred version of npm
Ready to go !
Way 2
You can simply upgrade to the latest npm version with following command
npm install npm#latest -g
or if you want a specific version of npm simply run
npm install npm#{version} -g for example npm install npm#3.3.12 -g
Now simply run npm --version or npm -v to know your current version of npm
3.3.12 is my preferred version of npm that best suits for approximately every package.
UPDATE
npm install npm#latest -g
the correct npm version is now already shipped with node.js so you can directly switch node version.
you can nvm (Node Version Manager) package to switch node versions very quick and easy.
So, TL;DR; this worked:
Uninstall node
From a command prompt, run where npm
If you had npm installed via chocolatey, you'll see a path like C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\bin\npm.exe - DELETE it!
Now install NodeJS using the appropriate MSI from https://nodejs.org/en/download/
In your favourite shell, type npm --version - this should now echo the version of NPM that came with NodeJS (at the time of this writing, that version is 3.10.10)
This is what worked for me (goofy me!)
I had (age ago) installed npm via chocolatey, which created a chocolatey initiated npm.exe in C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\bin\npm.exe. This was npm version 1.4.9 and wouldn't update no matter what one did including uninstall and reinstall NodeJs.
=======
EDIT: Better way to install node and npm
As of today (27/06/2017), the best way to install and manage node and npm is to install nvm (Node Version Manager) as explained here: https://github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows. Once you have nvm, installing any node version is super easy:
Open your favourite console (CMD, Cmder, PowerShell)
Type nvm install 6.10.2 (to install node version 6.10.2)
To see the currently active version, type nvm list. This prints something like below:
6.9.3
* 6.9.2 (Currently using 64-bit executable)
6.9.1
6.10.2
It's late 2021 and a lot of these answers can be confusing. npm install -g npm can break your installation. (When I did this, I had to run the Node MSI "Repair" tool to get it working again.) npm-windows-upgrade has not seen a release in over 2 years, and the repo has been archived by its maintainer.
As far as I can tell, there are two options that seem to work reliably today.
Use where npm from DOS prompt or which npm from WSL / Git Bash / etc, to determine which NPM binary is being used.
cd to that path, then run npm install npm#latest (without the -g flag!). npm update npm should have the same effect. You may need an elevated prompt (Run As Administrator).
Verify that this worked by running npm --version.
This worked for me. The other option is:
Completely uninstall NPM + Node using the Add/Remove Programs settings page.
Install an MSI from the Node website.
To upgrade NPM on windows 10
Uninstall Node.js
Restart your system
on command prompt type where npm
delete if npm and npm-cache folder exists in AppData/Roaming
Install Node.js (https://nodejs.org/en/)
You need to follow the Windows upgrade instructions
https://www.npmjs.com/package/npm-windows-upgrade
First, ensure that you can execute scripts on your system by running the following command from an elevated PowerShell. To run PowerShell as Administrator, click Start, search for PowerShell, right-click PowerShell and select Run as Administrator.
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser -Force
npm install --global --production npm-windows-upgrade
npm-windows-upgrade
Want to just install the latest version?
1.npm-windows-upgrade --npm-version latest
I did something similar to Sam Mikes. I'm only sharing this because I couldn't get either of his solutions to work on my rig. After a bit of playing around, this is what worked for me:
Remove NPM/Node from your Environment Variables, both for user and system.
Close your open console if you have one open, then open a console as administrator
Change directories to %USERPROFILE% -- that's a window's environment variable that takes you to C:\Users\CurrentlyLoggedInUser
Run from the console in %USERPROFILE%, "C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm" install npm -g (you might have yours in the x86 folder)
If this solution would work for you, step 4 would have worked, and npm -v will show a an up-to-date version
Re-add Node (in Program Files)/NPM (in App Data -- the one installed in Program Files should be the old one) to your user and system environment variables
Note: I've used the Microsoft automated script in the past to fix this, but only because I didn't realize how easy it would be to do it myself.
So none of the previous answers solved the issue for me so I thought I would post my specific solution, which I managed to figure out by going through all the other answers so they were really helpful.
My issue was because I had used chocolatey to install node and possibly npm (looking at chocolatey site now I shouldn't have done that).
To solve the issue I simply had to run the relevant choco uninstall commands for npm and node and then everything switched to the other version of node which I had also installed using the node msi (from node's website).
I hope that helps anyone else that may have gone down the same path as me.
I tried almost every answer but none of them works my way.
Neither npm-windows-upgrade worked nor did the npm install npm#latest etc etc worked.
For people like me I will suggest you guys downloading the latest installer from Node.js website, let the existing version of node directory be on it's place and without changing anything just install the msi installer and you will end up with an upgraded version of node.
My case was upgrading node from 6 to 8.9.3
all npm install commands were getting stuck and will throw error (behind proxy error) after sometime. setting up proxy was not helping. This is what I did.
Had 8.11 nodeJS
Uninstalled NodeJS from Programs & Features with the uninstaller.
Reboot (or you probably can get away with killing all node-related processes from Task Manager).
Look for these folders and remove them (and their contents) if any still exist. Depending on the version you installed, UAC settings, and CPU architecture, these may or may not exist:
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Nodejs
• C:\Program Files\Nodejs
• C:\Users{User}\AppData\Roaming\npm (or %appdata%\npm)
• C:\Users{User}\AppData\Roaming\npm-cache (or %appdata%\npm-cache)
• C:\Users{User}.npmrc (and possibly check for that without the . prefix too)
Check your %PATH% environment variable to ensure no references to Nodejs or npm exist.
If it's still not uninstalled, type where node at the command prompt and you'll see where it resides -- delete that (and probably the parent directory) too.
Reboot, for good measure.
Installed 6.11 nodejs then it worked.
Use npm-windows-upgrade tool to simply upgrade. Steps are provided in the link.
For update node npm on Windows
I have to delete node in:
C:\Users**YOUR USER**\AppData\Roaming
And reinstall node
This question's answers are a community effort. Edit existing answers to improve this post. It is not currently accepting new answers or interactions.
I tried this:
sudo npm cache clean -f
sudo npm install -g n
sudo n stable
...but it didn't work.
How do I do this on Windows?
Note: The question is specifically asking how to upgrade npm, not Node.js. If you want to update Node.js over a CLI on windows, I recommend running winget upgrade -q NodeJS or use chocolatey for that.
What method should I choose to update NPM?
Node.js v16 or higher?
npm install -g npm
Node.js v14 or below?
Consider updating to latest LTS release of Node.js
npm-windows-upgrade
Upgrade with npm-windows-upgrade
Run PowerShell as Administrator
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser -Force
npm install -g npm-windows-upgrade
npm-windows-upgrade
Note: if you run the Node.js installer, it will replace the Node.js version.
Upgrades npm in-place, where Node.js installed it.
Does not modify the default path.
Does not change the default global package location.
Allows easy upgrades and downgrades and to install a specific version.
A list of versions matched between NPM and Node.js (https://nodejs.org/en/download/releases/) - but you will need to download the Node.js installer and run that to update Node.js (https://nodejs.org/en/)
Upgrade with npm
npm install -g npm
Note: some users still report issues updating npm with npm, but I haven't had that experience with v16+.
Download and run the latest MSI. The MSI will update your installed node and npm.
To update NPM, this worked for me:
Navigate in your shell to your node installation directory, eg C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs
run npm install npm (no -g option)
Like some people, I needed to combine multiple answers, and I also needed to set a proxy.
This should work for anyone. I have zero desire to run an EXE file or MSI file .. uninstall/ reinstall, or manually delete files and folders. That is so 1999 :P
Run this to update NPM:
Run PowerShell as administrator
npm i -g npm // This works
I am not thinking this code actually upgrades your npm version below
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser -Force
npm install -g npm-windows-upgrade
npm-windows-upgrade
(courtesy of "Robert" answer)
Run this to update Node.js:
wget https://nodejs.org/download/release/latest/win-x64/node.exe -OutFile 'C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\node.exe' (courtesy of BrunoLM answer)
If you get `wget : Could not find a part of the path .... "**, see below ...scroll down. Reading Web Response... It's at least punching through the firewall /proxy (if you have one or have already ran the code get through ...
Otherwise
You might need to set your proxy
npm config set proxy "http://proxy.yourcorp.com:811" (yes, use quotes)
2 possible errors
It cannot find path of the path solution "where.exe node" (courtesy of Lonnie Best Answer)
E.g. if Node.js is NOT living in "Program Files (x86)" perhaps with where.exe, it is living in 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe'.
wget https://nodejs.org/download/release/latest/win-x64/node.exe -OutFile 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe'
Now perhaps it tries to upgrade but you get another error, "node.exe is being used by another process."
Close /shutdown other consoles .. command prompts and PowerShell windows, etc. Even if you're using npm in a command prompt, close it.
npm -v (3.10.8)
node -v ( v6.6.0)
DONE. I'm at the version that I want.
You can update your npm to the latest stable version with the following command:
npm install npm#latest -g
Use PowerShell to run it. This command doesn't need windows administrator privileges and you can verify the result with npm -v
You can use Chocolatey which is a package manager for windows (like apt-get for Debian Linux).
Install fresh (you might need to uninstall previously installed versions)
> choco install nodejs
Update to the latest version
> choco update nodejs
and for npm
> choco update npm
The previous answers will work installing a new version of Node.js (probably the best option), but if you have a dependency on a specific Node.js version then the following will work: "npm install npm -g". Verify by running npm -v before and after the command.
This works fine for me to update npm on Windows 7 x64:
Windows start
All Programs
Node.js
Node.js command prompt (alternative click)
Run as administrator
$ npm -g install npm
remove C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm.cmd the new npm will be at C:\Users\username\appdata\roaming\npm\npm.cmd
Hope this helps.
Open PowerShell as administrator.
To install a first time you can use this small script to download the latest msi and run it
$nodeLatest=((curl https://nodejs.org/download/release/latest/).Content | findstr x64.msi) -replace "<(.*?)>", "" -replace "\s+.+", "";
wget "https://nodejs.org/download/release/latest/$nodeLatest" -OutFile (join-path $env:TEMP node.msi); Start-Process (join-path $env:TEMP node.msi)
On future upgrades you can download just node.exe and update npm with
wget https://nodejs.org/download/release/latest/win-x64/node.exe -OutFile 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe'
npm i -g npm
You should now have the latest node and npm.
I went a little further and decided to implement a nvm for Windows.
https://github.com/brunolm/nvm
Install-Module -Name power-nvm
nvm install latest
nvm default latest
1. Installing latest npm version
npm install –g npm#latest
(You can type "npm –version" to check that)
2. Installing Node
a. Install node new version via following URL: https://nodejs.org/en/download/current/
Follow the default choices
b. Remove C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\NPM
c. Remove C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\npm-cache
Optionally:
d. (Delete node_modules folder in your current project folder)
e. npm cache verify
f. npm install
Use Upgrade npm on Windows
This is the official document for a user to upgrade npm on Windows!
Here is my screenshot!
For what it's worth, I had to combine several answers...
Uninstall Node.js in control panel Add/remove programs.
Delete directories, both C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\ and C:\Program Files\nodejs\ if they exist.
Install the latest version, http://nodejs.org/download/
How to Update Node.js:
Uninstall Node.js. Click the Start menu, type "Change or Remove a Program", click on the item shown, find Node.js in the list and uninstall it.
Delete directories, both C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\ and C:\Program Files\nodejs\ if they exist.
Install the latest, https://nodejs.org/en/download
The uninstall/delete/install seems unnecessary, but it often is and this will save your time.
These instructions come from Microsoft.
How to Update NPM:
https://www.npmjs.com/package/npm-windows-upgrade
This is the official documentation for upgrading npm on windows.
All was tested and working on Windows 10 (2017).
this is best tool to maintain version of NODE.Js i NVM
Node Version Manager (nvm) for Windows
but for Windows, with an installer. Download Now! This has always been a node version manager, not an io.js manager, so there is no back-support for io.js. However, node 4+ is supported.
For me, after totally uninstalling node 10.29, and then installing node 4.2.2, there remained a 10.29 node.exe file in my c:\windows folder.
I found this by using the following command:
where.exe node
The command returned:
C:\Windows\node.exe
C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe
So even though I had successfully installed version 4.2.2 via the msi executable, the command node -v would continue to report I was running version 10.29.
I resolved the problem by deleting this file:
C:\Windows\node.exe
Thereafter, node -v reported the upgraded version instead of the unwanted remnants of the prior version.
For NodeJS
Download required node version msi from here and install
for Npm
Run PowerShell as Administrator
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser -Force
npm install -g npm-windows-upgrade
npm-windows-upgrade
This works fine for me
Run Command Prompt as Administrator
Navigate to the folder containing nodejs (eg. C:\Program Files\nodejs)
Run Powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
Run npm-windows-upgrade
This will show list of versions available to install. Just select your desired version by moving up/down key & Press Enter.
This'll update your npm
To check the current version of npm
Run npm --version
Command Prompt Screenshot
I was also facing similar issues. I followed below mentioned steps and it worked for me:
go to Windows > Start > Node.js
right click on Node.js command prompt
click on Run as administrator
ping registry.npmjs.org
npm view npm version
cd %ProgramFiles%\nodejs
npm install npm#latest
and npm updated successfully. Earlier I was trying for CMD and that was throwing error. may be some path issue that got resolved by running NodeJs Command Prompt. hope it'll work for you. try this.
OK guys, I read (tried on Windows) all the previous stuff and all of these answers have their own disadvantages.
For the best way to update Node.js (at least for me), go to https://nodejs.org/en/
Then download the last version and install it in same folder you installed the previous version in - 1 min and it's done. You don't need to remove any old files.
Then update npm typing in cmd: npm install --save latest-version
To install the updates, just download the installer from the Nodejs.org site and run it again. The new version of Node.js and NPM will replace the older versions.
The easiest way I found so far to update Node.js is using Chocolatey.
Use Chocolatey to install or update the latest version of Node.js on Windows:
Step 1: First, ensure that you already have Chocolatey installed. If not, use an administrative shell to install chocolatey through cmd.exe or PowerShell.exe. For more information, visit: https://chocolatey.org/docs/installation
Step 2: Install with cmd.exe. Run the following command:
#"%SystemRoot%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" -NoProfile -InputFormat None -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))" && SET "PATH=%PATH%;%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\chocolatey\bin"
To install with PowerShell.exe, visit: https://chocolatey.org/docs/installation
Step 3: Install or Update with following commands on cmd.exe (on administrative mode)
To Install Node.js: cinst nodejs.install
To Update Node.js: cup nodejs.install
follow these steps for window 10 or window 8
press WIN + R and type cmd and enter
npm i -g npm#next
npm i -g npm#next OR npm i -g node#{version}
Remove environment path C:\Program Files\nodejs from envrionment variable PATH.
type refreshenv in cmd
Now you will have your new version which you installed.
Note: If you don't remove path. You will see the previous version of node.
PowerShell does not execute npm directly, so I suggest using
.\npm install -g npm-windows-upgrade
.\npm-windows-upgrade
And it failed with:
You wanted to install npm 6.1.0, but the installed version is 3.10.10.
A common reason is an attempted "npm install npm" or "npm upgrade npm". As of today, the only solution is to completely uninstall and then reinstall Node.js. For a small tutorial, please see http://aka.ms/fix-npm-upgrade (dead link).
Please consider reporting your trouble to npm-windows-upgrade.
I followed josh3737 and installed the latest MSI from the Node.js homepage.
But I had the additional problem that I still had the old version of Node.js and npm on the command line. The problem was caused by the new installation, and that it was installed into
C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\
instead of the previous installation in
C:\Program Files\nodejs\
The new installation added the new directory into my path variable after the old one. So the old installation was still the active one in the path. After removing C:\Program Files\nodejs\ from system path and C:\Users\...\AppData\Roaming\npm from user path and restarting the command line the new installation was active.
Maybe the least path was a local problem that has nothing to do with the new installation. I had two links to AppData\Roaming\npm in it. And maybe this can also be fixed by first uninstalling Node.js and installing the new version afterwards.
You can use these commands:
npm cache clean
npm update -g [package....]
If you are upgrading from a previous version of node, then you will want to update all existing global packages.
You can also specify the package name to be updated.
This might help someone. Neither "npm-windows-upgrade" nor the installer alone did it for me. Powershell was still using an older version of node and npm.
So this is what I did (worked for me):
1. Download the latest installer from nodejs.org. Install node. It will update your node; everywhere (Powershell, cmd etc.).
2. Install the npm-windows-upgrade package (npm install -g npm-windows-upgrade) and run npm-windows-upgrade.
I didn't uninstall anything and didn't set any paths.
In my case, I discovered that I had two copies of Node.js installed. One under "C:\Program Files\nodejs" and another under "C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs".
This is what worked for me.
Open a local folder other than the one in which nodejs is installed.
Install npm in that folder with command npm install npm
Navigate to the folder containing node js. (C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules)
Delete the npm folder and replace it with the npm and bin folders in the local folder.
Run npm -v. Now you would get updated version for npm.
Note: I tried installing npm directly in "C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules" but it created errors.
Start
Search for windows powershell
Right click and run as administrator
Type: where.exe node (returns the path of node.exe in your system. Copy this)
wget https://nodejs.org/download/release/latest/win-x64/node.exe -OutFile 'PATH-OF-NODE.EXE_WHICH_YOU_COPIED_JUST_NOW'
To check if it has worked, go to your Git bash/Normal command prompt and type: node -v
Here you can find the current version of node: https://nodejs.org/en/blog/release/