npm global path prefix

Solution 1:

Extending your PATH with:

export PATH=/usr/local/share/npm/bin:$PATH

isn't a terrible idea. Having said that, you shouldn't have to do it.

Run this:

npm config get prefix

The default on OS X is /usr/local, which means that npm will symlink binaries into /usr/local/bin, which should already be on your PATH (especially if you're using Homebrew).

So:

1. npm config set prefix /usr/local if it's something else, and
2. Don't use sudo with npm! According to the jslint docs, you should just be able to npm install it.

If you installed npm as sudo (sudo brew install), try reinstalling it with plain ol' brew install. Homebrew is supposed to help keep you sudo-free.

Solution 2:

Spent a while on this issue, and the PATH switch wasn't helping. My problem was the Homebrew/node/npm bug found here - https://github.com/npm/npm/issues/3794

If you've already installed node using Homebrew, try ****Note per comments that this might not be safe. It worked for me but could have unintended consequences. It also appears that latest version of Homebrew properly installs npm. So likely I would try brew update, brew doctor, brew upgrade node etc before trying****:

npm update -gf

Or, if you want to install node with Homebrew and have npm work, use:

brew install node --without-npm
curl -L https://npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

Solution 3:

I use brew and the prefix was already set to be:

$ npm config get prefix
/Users/[user]/.node

I did notice that the bin and lib folder were owned by root, which prevented the usual non sudo install, so I re-owned them to the user

$ cd /Users/[user]/.node
$ chown -R [user]:[group] lib
$ chown -R [user]:[group] bin

Then I just added the path to my .bash_profile which is located at /Users/[user]

PATH=$PATH:~/.node/bin

Solution 4:

brew should not require you to use sudo even when running npm with -g. This might actually create more problems down the road.

Typically, brew or port let you update you path so it doesn't risk messing up your .zshrc, .bashrc, .cshrc, or whatever flavor of shell you use.