Node Version Manager

snpm node is a built-in, nvm-style Node.js version manager. It downloads official Node releases from nodejs.org, persists them under snpm's data directory, and switches between them — including auto-switching based on .node-version / .nvmrc / engines.node in the project tree.

Install a version

snpm node install 20            # latest 20.x
snpm node install 20.10.0       # exact version
snpm node install ^20           # range
snpm node install lts           # newest LTS
snpm node install lts/iron      # named LTS line
snpm node install latest        # latest current

snpm node install --lts         # newest LTS
snpm node install 20 --default  # install and persist as default

Activate a version

snpm node use 20                # this shell
snpm node use --lts             # newest LTS
snpm node use                   # read .node-version / .nvmrc / engines.node
snpm node use 20 --default      # also persist as default
snpm node use 20 --install      # install on demand if missing
snpm node use 20 --silent       # suppress info output (good for shell hooks)

snpm node use (no version) walks the directory tree looking for, in order: .node-version, .nvmrc, then engines.node in package.json. If none are present, it falls back to the persisted default.

Discover

snpm node list             # installed versions (alias: ls)
snpm node ls-remote        # available from nodejs.org (alias: remote / list-remote)
snpm node current          # the currently active version
snpm node which 20         # absolute path to the node binary for 20.x

Aliases

snpm node alias work 20            # define an alias
snpm node alias                    # list aliases
snpm node unalias work             # remove an alias
snpm node default 20               # shortcut for `node alias default 20`

One-off commands

snpm node exec 20 -- node --version       # run any command with a specific Node
snpm node run 20 test                     # run a package.json script with a specific Node

snpm node exec <ver> -- runs the command in a shell with PATH updated to put the requested Node first. snpm node run re-uses the regular snpm run script invocation with the requested version active.

Remove

snpm node uninstall 20            # alias: rm
snpm node uninstall 20.10.0

Shell integration

snpm node env --shell <bash|zsh|fish|powershell> prints a snippet that auto-switches the active Node when you cd into a directory with a pinned version.

# zsh
snpm node env --shell zsh >> ~/.zshrc

# bash
snpm node env --shell bash >> ~/.bashrc

# fish
snpm node env --shell fish > ~/.config/fish/conf.d/snpm-node.fish

# powershell
snpm node env --shell powershell >> $PROFILE

When the shell omits --shell, snpm detects the flavor from $SHELL.

After installing the snippet, opening a project with .node-version automatically switches Node.

How it works

• Installed Node versions live under <data_dir>/node/versions/<version>/.
• The "active" version is recorded in <data_dir>/node/current.
• Aliases live in <data_dir>/node/aliases/.
• Downloads come from https://nodejs.org/dist/ and are verified against the official SHASUMS256.txt.

Project pinning

Three formats are recognized, walked from the current directory up to the workspace root:

Add one of these alongside package.json so every contributor gets the same Node automatically.

Compatibility tips

• lts/<name> selectors work the same as in nvm (lts/argon, lts/iron, etc.).
• snpm node writes to its own data directory and does not conflict with an existing nvm/fnm/volta install.
• For CI, prefer actions/setup-node (or its equivalent) and skip snpm node — those actions pre-warm the GitHub-hosted Node cache.
• For local dev across multiple repos with different Node pins, snpm node env is the lightest-weight option that ships with snpm itself.