Node

Like nvm, (or volta, fnm or asdf...), mise can manage multiple versions of Node.js on the same system.

The following are instructions for using the node mise core plugin. This is used when there isn't a git plugin installed named "node". If you want to use asdf-nodejs then run mise plugins install node https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-nodejs

The code for this is inside the mise repository at ./src/plugins/core/node.rs.

Usage

The following installs the latest version of node-26.x and makes it the global default:

mise use -g node@26

See the Node.JS Cookbook for common tasks and examples.

Pinning npm version

By default, Node.js ships with a bundled version of npm. If you need a specific npm version (e.g. to keep your entire team on the same version and avoid package-lock.json conflicts), you can pin it alongside Node in your mise.toml:

[tools]
node = "26"
npm = "11"

To pin both to exact versions:

mise use --pin node@lts npm@latest

This resolves aliases like lts and latest to exact version numbers in mise.toml, e.g.:

[tools]
node = "26.1.0"
npm = "11.12.1"

The pinned npm version takes precedence over the one bundled with Node, so npm --version will always return the version specified in mise.toml.

.nvmrc and .node-version support

By default, mise uses a mise.toml file for auto-switching between software versions.

It also supports .tool-versions, .nvmrc or .node-version file to find out what version of Node.js should be used. This will be used if node isn't defined in mise.toml.

This makes it a drop-in replacement for nvm. See idiomatic version files for more information.

Default node packages

mise-node can automatically install a default set of npm packages right after installing a node version. To enable this feature, provide a $HOME/.default-npm-packages file that lists one package per line, for example:

lodash
request
express

You can specify a non-default location of this file by setting a MISE_NODE_DEFAULT_PACKAGES_FILE variable.

"nodejs" -> "node" Alias

You cannot install/use a plugin named "nodejs". If you attempt this, mise will just rename it to "node". See the FAQ for an explanation.

Building from source

If compiling from source, see BUILDING.md in node's documentation for required system dependencies.

mise settings node.compile=1
mise use node@latest

Unofficial Builds

Nodejs.org offers a set of unofficial builds which are compatible with some platforms that are not supported by the official binaries. These are a nice alternative to compiling from source for these platforms.

To use, first set the mirror url to point to the unofficial builds:

mise settings node.mirror_url=https://unofficial-builds.nodejs.org/download/release/

If your goal is to simply support an alternative arch/os like linux-loong64 or linux-armv6l, this is all that is required. Node also provides flavors such as musl or glibc-217 (an older glibc version than what the official binaries are built with).

To use these, set node.flavor:

mise settings node.flavor=musl
mise settings node.flavor=glibc-217

For the common musl case, mise settings libc=musl also selects Node's musl flavor when node.flavor is unset.

Settings