How To Fix The “NPM command not found” Error

Node Package Manager (npm) is an excellent tool for JavaScript developers to download, install, uninstall, and update packages.

NPM has one of the largest JavaScript registries, which makes it easy to find and manage packages.

However, in some instances, a user may encounter difficulties installing it or resolving the “npm package missing” error. This article will teach you what can cause this error and how to fix it.

What Is NPM?

NPM is the default package manager for the JavaScript runtime environment Node.js. A package manager is a tool used by programming languages to build project environments and easily import external dependencies. 

A package manager allows you to specify the needed dependencies for your project in order for it to run smoothly. All of this aids in storing your package in online repositories and allows others to locate your project. 

Furthermore, by allowing developers to build their packages, they are forced to consider how they will be used and implemented, resulting in better and more reusable packages.

This type of error has numerous causes, but it typically happens when the system cannot locate the path where npm or NodeJS is installed. This could be because you have not installed npm or NodeJS or haven’t set up the PATH to binaries.

How To Fix The “npm command not found” Error

As stated earlier, numerous causes could result in an “npm command not found” error on your system. These are solutions that will help you fix this problem.

Ensure npm is installed

The first step in fixing this error is ensuring you have npm installed on your system. Npm is included as a package whenever you install Node.js. As such, you will have to check if Node.js is installed. To check if Node.js is installed, run the command:

node -v

If Node.js is installed, the command above should show the installed Node version. If you receive an error, you do not have it installed.

Looking for a more in-depth description of how to install Node.js? Check out this article.

Install Node.js On Windows

Step 1: Go to the official download site and select the Windows installer.

Step 2: After completing the download process, run the installer. The installer is the .msi file in your downloads directory.

Step 3: Follow the prompts in the installer (Accept the license agreement and accept the default installation settings).

Step 4: Restart your computer. You won’t be able to run Node.js until you restart your computer.

Step 5: After installation, you can now verify if the npm was successfully installed using the following command:

npm -v

Fix Path Variables in Windows

When you install Node.js in Windows, the path variables are automatically inserted. Specific procedures, however, may cause it to be removed or modified.

Step 1: Type “Edit the system environment variables” in the Start menu search bar and select it.

Step 2: A System Properties dialog box will appear. Select the Environment Variables option.

Step 3: Select the Path option from the list and click Edit. If the path for Node.js is not present, click on New and paste the location of the Node.js folder. 

By default, NodeJS is installed in C:\Program Files\nodejs

Install Node.js and NPM on Linux

On Linux, you can use your package manager to install Node.js and npm by inputting the following:

sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Once completed, verify that Node.js and npm are accessible by checking the versions. To do this, input:

Node –version

npm –version

Fix the “npm command not found” error – Permissions

In some instances, the “npm command not found” error may be due to directory permissions.

On Linux, you can fix it by running the commands:

$ sudo chown -R $(whoami):root $(npm root -g)

The command above should change the permissions of the npm global package location to the current user.

On macOS, you can fix it by running the command:

$ sudo chown -R $(whoami):admin $(npm root -g)

Conclusion

Numerous intricacies can be involved when dealing with package managers, and the wrong move could result in you running into problems. One such problem is the “npm command not found” error. In this article, we dove into details on different methods and techniques you can use to fix this error.