managing-node-with-brew.md

Managing Node Versions With brew

This is not our recommended path to manage node versions. For that, see the main node document.

If you prefer to use brew for node versions, this is how.

brew search will show you the versions available on your machine.

❯ brew search node
==> Searching local taps...
node ✔            leafnode          llnode            node@4            nodeenv
node@6 ✔          libbitcoin-node   node-build        nodebrew          nodenv

To switch to a different version, you must first unlink the current version and then link the target version. Note that some brew packages are "keg-only," and you may need to run link --force:

❯ node -v
v8.9.2

❯ brew unlink node
Unlinking /usr/local/Cellar/node/8.9.2... 7 symlinks removed

❯ brew link node@6
Warning: node@6 is keg-only and must be linked with --force
Note that doing so can interfere with building software.

❯ brew link node@6 --force
Linking /usr/local/Cellar/node@6/6.10.3... 7 symlinks created

❯ node -v
v6.10.3