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What uses / respects the .node-version file?

stackoverflow.com › questions › 27425852 › what-uses-respects-the-node-version-file

.node-version is a file read by various tools on an individual basis for specifying the target node version. Version managers which use/respect it include (in alphabetical order):

asdf-nodejs Node.js plugin for asdf version manager. (macOS, Linux)
avn Automatic Version Switching for Node. (macOS, Linux)
chnode Changes shell's current Node.js version by updating $PATH (macOS, Linux)
dev dev is built on pkgx, a single, standalone binary that can run anything (macOS, Linux)
direnv unclutter your .profile. (macOS, Linux)
fnm Fast and simple Node.js version manager, built in Rust. (macOS, Linux, Windows)
mise Polyglot switcher compatible with asdf plugins, built in Rust. (macOS, Linux)
n Interactively Manage Your Node.js Versions. (macOS, Linux)
nenv Groom your app’s Node environment with nenv (macOS, Linux)
nodeenv Virtual environment for Node.js & integrator with virtualenv (macOS, Linux, Windows)
nodenv Manage multiple NodeJS versions. (macOS, Linux)
nodist Natural node.js and npm version manager for windows. (Windows)
nve Run any command on specific Node.js versions (macOS, Linux, Windows)
nvm-rust A cross-platform node version manager that doesn't suck (macOS, Linux, Windows)
nvm.fish Node.js version manager lovingly made for Fish. (macOS, Linux)
nvs Node Version Switcher - A cross-platform tool for switching between versions and forks of Node.js. (macOS, Linux, Windows)
setup-node (configuration) Set up your GitHub Actions workflow with a specific version of node.js
vfox The Multiple SDK Version Manager

Other products which use .node-version include:

bitrise The CI/CD Platform built for Mobile DevOps
Cloudflare Pages Build fast sites. In record time.
Hostman Hosting platform that deploys your web applications
netlify Instantly build and deploy your sites to our global network from Git.
paketo Your app, in your favorite language, ready to run in the cloud
preferred-node-version Get the preferred Node.js version of a project or user
Pulumi Deployments Automate, Secure, and Manage Everything You Run in the Cloud
ReadyMage Magento 2 and PWA managed auto-scalable infrastructure hosting service.
render A Cloud for the New Decade
Spaceship Minimalistic, powerful and extremely customizable Zsh prompt
starship The minimal, blazing-fast, and infinitely customizable prompt for any shell!
typescript-action Create a TypeScript Action with tests, linting, workflow, publishing, and versioning
Vercel Conformance Conformance provides tools that run automated checks on your code for product critical issues, such as performance, security, and code health.
VMware Tanzu The Tanzu Node.js Buildpack supports several popular configurations for Node.js apps.

Note: nvm does not support reading a .node-version file.

I documented usage and some supported features here: https://github.com/shadowspawn/node-version-usage

Answer from shadowspawn on Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow

stackoverflow.com › questions › 27425852 › what-uses-respects-the-node-version-file

node.js - What uses / respects the .node-version file? - Stack Overflow

Top answer

1 of 7

.node-version is a file read by various tools on an individual basis for specifying the target node version. Version managers which use/respect it include (in alphabetical order):

asdf-nodejs Node.js plugin for asdf version manager. (macOS, Linux)
avn Automatic Version Switching for Node. (macOS, Linux)
chnode Changes shell's current Node.js version by updating $PATH (macOS, Linux)
dev dev is built on pkgx, a single, standalone binary that can run anything (macOS, Linux)
direnv unclutter your .profile. (macOS, Linux)
fnm Fast and simple Node.js version manager, built in Rust. (macOS, Linux, Windows)
mise Polyglot switcher compatible with asdf plugins, built in Rust. (macOS, Linux)
n Interactively Manage Your Node.js Versions. (macOS, Linux)
nenv Groom your app’s Node environment with nenv (macOS, Linux)
nodeenv Virtual environment for Node.js & integrator with virtualenv (macOS, Linux, Windows)
nodenv Manage multiple NodeJS versions. (macOS, Linux)
nodist Natural node.js and npm version manager for windows. (Windows)
nve Run any command on specific Node.js versions (macOS, Linux, Windows)
nvm-rust A cross-platform node version manager that doesn't suck (macOS, Linux, Windows)
nvm.fish Node.js version manager lovingly made for Fish. (macOS, Linux)
nvs Node Version Switcher - A cross-platform tool for switching between versions and forks of Node.js. (macOS, Linux, Windows)
setup-node (configuration) Set up your GitHub Actions workflow with a specific version of node.js
vfox The Multiple SDK Version Manager

Other products which use .node-version include:

bitrise The CI/CD Platform built for Mobile DevOps
Cloudflare Pages Build fast sites. In record time.
Hostman Hosting platform that deploys your web applications
netlify Instantly build and deploy your sites to our global network from Git.
paketo Your app, in your favorite language, ready to run in the cloud
preferred-node-version Get the preferred Node.js version of a project or user
Pulumi Deployments Automate, Secure, and Manage Everything You Run in the Cloud
ReadyMage Magento 2 and PWA managed auto-scalable infrastructure hosting service.
render A Cloud for the New Decade
Spaceship Minimalistic, powerful and extremely customizable Zsh prompt
starship The minimal, blazing-fast, and infinitely customizable prompt for any shell!
typescript-action Create a TypeScript Action with tests, linting, workflow, publishing, and versioning
Vercel Conformance Conformance provides tools that run automated checks on your code for product critical issues, such as performance, security, and code health.
VMware Tanzu The Tanzu Node.js Buildpack supports several popular configurations for Node.js apps.

Note: nvm does not support reading a .node-version file.

I documented usage and some supported features here: https://github.com/shadowspawn/node-version-usage

2 of 7

There are a few version managers for node.js respecting .node-version file:

avn - Automatic Node Version Switching
nodenv - Yet another version managers
asdf - Extendable version manager with support for Ruby, Node.js, Elixir, Erlang & more, provided you configure it accordingly
nvs - Node Version Switcher

There may be some other version managers, but I'm not aware of them.

I don't know which particular version manager Atom uses. nodenv have more stars on GitHub, but avn looks more mature and better maintained for me, not to mention its compatibility with both n and nvm.

GitHub

github.com › shadowspawn › node-version-usage

GitHub - shadowspawn/node-version-usage: Document current usage of .node-version file

Allowing any line ending makes it easier for users and especially Windows users to create a file compatible with your product. ... The compatibility table deliberately only covers commonly supported formats and is not intended to be a full feature table. Some utilities do support version specifiers beyond just a numeric version. Often utilities read the .node-version file contents and then use their normal version parsing code.

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Videos

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render.com › docs › node-version

Setting Your Node.js Version – Render Docs

Add a file named .node-version to the root of your repo.

Stack Overflow

stackoverflow.com › questions › 54867197 › what-should-be-the-format-of-the-node-version-file-and-where-should-i-place

node.js - What should be the format of the '.node-version' file, and where should I place it? - Stack Overflow

Top answer

1 of 1

The .node-version file is read by multiple projects, but there is not a defined standard.

In my testing, the format that worked with every product is a three part version number on a single line with a unix line ending.

e.g.

8.11.2

I documented usage and some supported features here: https://github.com/shadowspawn/node-version-usage

Vercel

vercel.com › docs › conformance › rules › REQUIRE_NODE_VERSION_FILE

REQUIRE_NODE_VERSION_FILE

March 4, 2025 - Using a Node.js version file (.node-version or .nvmrc) ensures that all developers and tooling (e.g., CI systems) use the same version of Node.js.

Mise-en-place

mise.jdx.dev › lang › node.html

Node | mise-en-place

It also supports .tool-versions, .nvmrc or .node-version file to find out what version of Node.js should be used.

GitHub

github.com › nvm-sh › nvm › issues › 794

Honor .node-version file · Issue #794 · nvm-sh/nvm

August 4, 2015 - Since n already supports .node-version, this would make it so that regardless of the Node version manager used, there could be some degree of guarantee that the correct version will be used.

Published Aug 04, 2015

Upsun

fixed.docs.upsun.com › languages › nodejs › node-version.html

Manage Node.js versions | Upsun Fixed Docs

You could also specify a different file or use environment variables. The n package works for various Unix-like systems, including Windows Subsystem for Linux. Add the desired Node.js version to your environment using .nvmrc, .n-node-version, .node-version, or package.json.

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Node.js

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GitHub

github.com › nodejs › version-management › issues › 13

Agree on a standard format for a `.node-version` file? · Issue #13 · nodejs/version-management

December 22, 2016 - Agree on a standard format for a .node-version file?#13 · Copy link · ljharb · opened · on Dec 22, 2016 · Issue body actions · It seems like, at a minimum, this would need to support v4.5.6 and 6.7.8 - ie, static versions, both with and without the v. It would certainly not support aliases, since a) that varies widely by version management tool, and b) the point of an "x-version" file is to target one specific version.

Published Dec 22, 2016

GitHub

github.com › nvm-sh › nvm

GitHub - nvm-sh/nvm: Node Version Manager - POSIX-compliant bash script to manage multiple active node.js versions

Afterwards, nvm use, nvm install, nvm exec, nvm run, and nvm which will use the version specified in the .nvmrc file if no version is supplied on the command line. For example, to make nvm default to the latest 5.9 release, the latest LTS version, or the latest node version for the current directory:

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Languages Shell 98.0% | Makefile 1.2%

reddit.com › r/node › is there a project level way to specify nvm versions and avoid nvm use?

r/node on Reddit: Is there a project level way to specify nvm versions and avoid nvm use?

January 8, 2023 -

I love the node version manager, since different projects might require different node versions for various reasons - often the CI/CD tooling or cloud infrastructure requirements.

The problem I have is when switching between projects, I need to remember to run nvm use.

To make sure I don't forget, I fill in the engines section like this:

"engines" : {
"npm" : ">=8.0.0 <9.0.0",
"node" : ">=18.0.0 <19.0.0"
}

However, is there a nicer way where I don't have to switch, and somehow things are symlinked to the right place.

I use Windows out of habit, but happy for a Linux answer as I am happy to work there too.