What if you need to juggle multiple Node.js versions? Maybe your work project runs on version 14, but your side project is on version 20. Enter NVM (Node Version Manager). It’s like having a time machine for your runtime environment. Seriously, you can switch between versions faster than you can say “dependency hell.”
First, install NVM by running: curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash. This script adds a few lines to your .bashrc or .zshrc file—don’t panic, it’s just loading NVM every time you open a terminal. Then either restart your terminal or run source ~/.bashrc (or source ~/.zshrc if you’re a Zsh fanatic).
Now you can install any Node version with nvm install 20 and switch to it with nvm use 20. Want to test your code on an older version? nvm install 14 and boom—you’re in 2019 again. How cool is that? The only downside? You’ll become that person who writes “works on my machine” in every pull request.
