`nvm-exec` should use the `default` alias by default

[regseb]

Operating system and version:

nvm debug output:

Details

nvm --version: v0.40.3
$SHELL: /bin/bash
$SHLVL: 1
whoami: 'osmc'
${HOME}: /home/osmc
${NVM_DIR}: '${HOME}/.nvm'
${PATH}: ${NVM_DIR}/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/games:/usr/games:/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/osmc/bin:/opt/vc/bin
$PREFIX: ''
${NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX}: ''
$NVM_NODEJS_ORG_MIRROR: ''
$NVM_IOJS_ORG_MIRROR: ''
shell version: 'GNU bash, version 5.1.4(1)-release (arm-unknown-linux-gnueabihf)'
uname -a: 'Linux 5.15.92-1-osmc #1 SMP PREEMPT Tue Jul 25 00:03:42 UTC 2023 aarch64 GNU/Linux'
checksum binary: 'sha256sum'
OS version: OSMC: Open Source Media Center  
random-funcs:       srandom/random
regex-funcs:        internal
compiled limits:
sprintf buffer      8192
maximum-integer     2147483647
awk: awk est /usr/bin/awk, mawk 1.3.4 20200120
curl: curl est /usr/bin/curl, curl 7.74.0 (arm-unknown-linux-gnueabihf) libcurl/7.74.0 OpenSSL/1.1.1w zlib/1.2.11 brotli/1.0.9 libidn2/2.3.0 libpsl/0.21.0 (+libidn2/2.3.0) libssh2/1.9.0 nghttp2/1.43.0 librtmp/2.3
wget: wget est /usr/bin/wget, GNU Wget 1.21 compilé sur linux-gnueabihf.
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'git': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
git: git est /usr/bin/git, git version 2.30.2
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'grep': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
grep: grep est /usr/bin/grep, grep (GNU grep) 3.6
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'sed': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
sed: sed est /usr/bin/sed, sed (GNU sed) 4.7
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'cut': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
cut: cut est /usr/bin/cut, cut (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'basename': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
basename: basename est /usr/bin/basename, basename (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'rm': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
rm: rm est /usr/bin/rm, rm (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'mkdir': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
mkdir: mkdir est /usr/bin/mkdir, mkdir (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'xargs': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
xargs: xargs est /usr/bin/xargs, xargs (GNU findutils) 4.8.0
nvm current: v22.22.2
which node: ${NVM_DIR}/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin/node
which iojs: 
which npm: ${NVM_DIR}/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin/npm
npm config get prefix: ${NVM_DIR}/versions/node/v22.22.2
npm root -g: ${NVM_DIR}/versions/node/v22.22.2/lib/node_modules

nvm ls output:

Details

       v22.21.1
       v22.22.0
       v22.22.1
->     v22.22.2
default -> 22 (-> v22.22.2)
iojs -> N/A (default)
unstable -> N/A (default)
node -> stable (-> v22.22.2) (default)
stable -> 22.22 (-> v22.22.2) (default)
lts/* -> lts/krypton (-> N/A)
lts/argon -> v4.9.1 (-> N/A)
lts/boron -> v6.17.1 (-> N/A)
lts/carbon -> v8.17.0 (-> N/A)
lts/dubnium -> v10.24.1 (-> N/A)
lts/erbium -> v12.22.12 (-> N/A)
lts/fermium -> v14.21.3 (-> N/A)
lts/gallium -> v16.20.2 (-> N/A)
lts/hydrogen -> v18.20.8 (-> N/A)
lts/iron -> v20.20.2 (-> N/A)
lts/jod -> v22.22.2
lts/krypton -> v24.14.1 (-> N/A)

How did you install nvm?

Télécharger Node.js®:

# Télécharger et installer nvm :
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.4/install.sh | bash

# au lieu de redémarrer le shell
\. "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh"

# Télécharger et installer Node.js :
nvm install 22

# Vérifiez la version de Node.js :
node -v # Doit afficher "v22.22.2".

# Vérifier la version de npm :
npm -v # Doit afficher "10.9.7".

What steps did you perform?

I want to start my Node project using Systemd:

[Unit]
Description=Foo
After=network.target

[Service]
User=osmc
WorkingDirectory=/home/osmc/dev/foo
ExecStart=/home/osmc/.nvm/nvm-exec node src/index.js
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

What happened?

nvm-exec doesn't know which version of node is being used. So I added the .nvmrc file in my project:

default

What did you expect to happen?

If NODE_VERSION and .npmrc do not exist, nvm-exec uses the default alias by default.

I want my project to use the default version of node that's installed. In an interactive shell, the default alias is used. But with Systemd, .bashrc isn't loaded, so I have to add .npmrc, which seems unnecessary.

[ljharb]

I'm not familiar with systemd, but if it doesn't use bashrc, then you can move the nvm lines into .bash_profile, and then non-login sessions can use it too.

[regseb]

I tried moving the nvm initialization into .bash_profile, but it doesn't work: the service can't find node.

[ljharb]

Can the service . $HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh && node src/index.js?

[regseb]

With /etc/systemd/system/foo.service:

[Unit]
Description=Foo
After=network.target

[Service]
User=osmc
WorkingDirectory=/home/osmc/dev/foo
ExecStart=. /home/osmc/.nvm/nvm.sh && node src/index.js
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

There is this error:

● foo.service - Foo
     Loaded: bad-setting (Reason: Unit foo.service has a bad unit file setting.)
     Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Mon 2026-03-30 19:57:24 CEST; 4min 11s ago
   Main PID: 27984 (code=exited, status=203/EXEC)
        CPU: 6ms

mars 30 19:57:24 osmc systemd[1]: foo.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 5.
mars 30 19:57:24 osmc systemd[1]: Stopped Foo.
mars 30 19:57:24 osmc systemd[1]: foo.service: Start request repeated too quickly.
mars 30 19:57:24 osmc systemd[1]: foo.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
mars 30 19:57:24 osmc systemd[1]: Failed to start Foo.
mars 30 20:01:03 osmc systemd[1]: /etc/systemd/system/foo.service:13: Neither a valid executable name nor an absolute path: .
mars 30 20:01:03 osmc systemd[1]: foo.service: Unit configuration has fatal error, unit will not be started.
mars 30 20:01:03 osmc systemd[1]: /etc/systemd/system/foo.service:13: Neither a valid executable name nor an absolute path: .
mars 30 20:01:03 osmc systemd[1]: foo.service: Unit configuration has fatal error, unit will not be started.

I think ExecStart requires a file (with its arguments). . and && may not work.

[ljharb]

Can you make a file with those commands in them, and run that?

[regseb]

I tried using:

ExecStart=/home/osmc/dev/foo/start.sh

#!/bin/sh

. /home/osmc/.nvm/nvm.sh
echo $PATH
node src/index.js

But it doesn't work:

mars 31 19:06:59 osmc systemd[1]: Started Foo.
mars 31 19:07:00 osmc systemd[1]: foo.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=127/n/a
mars 31 19:07:00 osmc systemd[1]: foo.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
mars 31 19:07:00 osmc systemd[1]: foo.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 5.
mars 31 19:07:00 osmc systemd[1]: Stopped Foo.
mars 31 19:07:00 osmc systemd[1]: foo.service: Start request repeated too quickly.
mars 31 19:07:00 osmc systemd[1]: foo.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
mars 31 19:07:00 osmc systemd[1]: Failed to start Foo.

/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
/home/osmc/dev/foo/start.sh: 5: node: not found

[ljharb]

That's very confusing. can you include (in the script) the output of nvm debug?

[regseb]

Here are the logs from the start.sh script launched via Systemd:

nvm --version: v0.40.3
$SHELL: /bin/bash
$SHLVL: 
whoami: 'osmc'
${HOME}: /home/osmc
${NVM_DIR}: '${HOME}/dev/foo'
${PATH}: /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
$PREFIX: ''
${NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX}: ''
$NVM_NODEJS_ORG_MIRROR: ''
$NVM_IOJS_ORG_MIRROR: ''
shell version: 'GNU bash, version 5.1.4(1)-release (arm-unknown-linux-gnueabihf)'
uname -a: 'Linux 5.15.92-1-osmc #1 SMP PREEMPT Tue Jul 25 00:03:42 UTC 2023 aarch64 GNU/Linux'
checksum binary: 'sha256sum'
OS version: OSMC: Open Source Media Center  
random-funcs:       srandom/random
regex-funcs:        internal
compiled limits:
sprintf buffer      8192
maximum-integer     2147483647
awk: awk is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/awk, mawk 1.3.4 20200120
curl: curl is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/curl, curl 7.74.0 (arm-unknown-linux-gnueabihf) libcurl/7.74.0 OpenSSL/1.1.1w zlib/1.2.11 brotli/1.0.9 libidn2/2.3.0 libpsl/0.21.0 (+libidn2/2.3.0) libssh2/1.9.0 nghttp2/1.43.0 librtmp/2.3
wget: wget is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/wget, GNU Wget 1.21 built on linux-gnueabihf.
ls: cannot access 'git': No such file or directory
git: git is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/git, git version 2.30.2
ls: cannot access 'grep': No such file or directory
grep: grep is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/grep, grep (GNU grep) 3.6
ls: cannot access 'sed': No such file or directory
sed: sed is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/sed, sed (GNU sed) 4.7
ls: cannot access 'cut': No such file or directory
cut: cut is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/cut, cut (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: cannot access 'basename': No such file or directory
basename: basename is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/basename, basename (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: cannot access 'rm': No such file or directory
rm: rm is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/rm, rm (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: cannot access 'mkdir': No such file or directory
mkdir: mkdir is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/mkdir, mkdir (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: cannot access 'xargs': No such file or directory
xargs: xargs is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/xargs, xargs (GNU findutils) 4.8.0
nvm current: none
which node: 
which iojs: 
which npm: 
npm config get prefix: ${NVM_DIR}/start.sh: 3273: npm: not found
npm root -g: ${NVM_DIR}/start.sh: 3273: npm: not found
/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
/home/osmc/dev/foo/start.sh: 7: node: not found

---

Here are the logs from the script run manually ./start.sh:

nvm --version: v0.40.3
$SHELL: /bin/bash
$SHLVL: 1
whoami: 'osmc'
${HOME}: /home/osmc
${NVM_DIR}: '${HOME}/.nvm'
${PATH}: ${NVM_DIR}/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/games:/usr/games:/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/osmc/bin:/opt/vc/bin
$PREFIX: ''
${NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX}: ''
$NVM_NODEJS_ORG_MIRROR: ''
$NVM_IOJS_ORG_MIRROR: ''
shell version: 'GNU bash, version 5.1.4(1)-release (arm-unknown-linux-gnueabihf)'
uname -a: 'Linux 5.15.92-1-osmc #1 SMP PREEMPT Tue Jul 25 00:03:42 UTC 2023 aarch64 GNU/Linux'
checksum binary: 'sha256sum'
OS version: OSMC: Open Source Media Center  
random-funcs:       srandom/random
regex-funcs:        internal
compiled limits:
sprintf buffer      8192
maximum-integer     2147483647
awk: awk is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/awk, mawk 1.3.4 20200120
curl: curl is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/curl, curl 7.74.0 (arm-unknown-linux-gnueabihf) libcurl/7.74.0 OpenSSL/1.1.1w zlib/1.2.11 brotli/1.0.9 libidn2/2.3.0 libpsl/0.21.0 (+libidn2/2.3.0) libssh2/1.9.0 nghttp2/1.43.0 librtmp/2.3
wget: wget is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/wget, GNU Wget 1.21 compilé sur linux-gnueabihf.
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'git': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
git: git is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/git, git version 2.30.2
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'grep': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
grep: grep is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/grep, grep (GNU grep) 3.6
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'sed': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
sed: sed is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/sed, sed (GNU sed) 4.7
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'cut': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
cut: cut is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/cut, cut (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'basename': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
basename: basename is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/basename, basename (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'rm': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
rm: rm is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/rm, rm (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'mkdir': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
mkdir: mkdir is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/mkdir, mkdir (GNU coreutils) 8.32
ls: impossible d'accéder à 'xargs': Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
xargs: xargs is a tracked alias for /usr/bin/xargs, xargs (GNU findutils) 4.8.0
nvm current: v22.22.2
which node: ${NVM_DIR}/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin/node
which iojs: 
which npm: ${NVM_DIR}/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin/npm
npm config get prefix: ${NVM_DIR}/versions/node/v22.22.2
npm root -g: ${NVM_DIR}/versions/node/v22.22.2/lib/node_modules
/home/osmc/.nvm/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/games:/usr/games:/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/osmc/bin:/opt/vc/bin

And the web server starts up successfully.

---

- # manually
+ # Systemd
  nvm --version: v0.40.3
  $SHELL: /bin/bash
- $SHLVL: 1
+ $SHLVL: 
  whoami: 'osmc'
  ${HOME}: /home/osmc
- ${NVM_DIR}: '${HOME}/.nvm'
+ ${NVM_DIR}: '${HOME}/dev/foo'
- ${PATH}: ${NVM_DIR}/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/games:/usr/games:/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/osmc/bin:/opt/vc/bin
+ ${PATH}: /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
  # ...

[regseb]

I think the problem comes from this line. If nvm is not configured, the current directory is used for NVM_DIR.

nvm/nvm.sh

Line 453 in 62387b8

NVM_DIR="$(nvm_cd ${NVM_CD_FLAGS} "$(dirname "${NVM_SCRIPT_SOURCE:-$0}")" >/dev/null && \pwd)"

• When nvm.sh is run at the start of an interactive shell, pwd is equal to $HOME. So the configuration of nvm works.
• But if nvm.sh in run in a directory other than $HOME, the configuration does not work.

For Systemd, I set WorkingDirectory=/home/osmc/dev/foo.

---

Perhaps we should replace pwd with $HOME.

[ljharb]

ah, right - typically nvm is sourced from $HOME.

This is something nobody else has run into previously, and can be worked around either by your script setting NVM_DIR, or, cd $HOME && . path/to/nvm.sh && cd -, so hopefully one of those workarounds suffices?

[regseb]

It doesn't work with cd $HOME && . .nvm/nvm.sh && cd -, because in the line:

NVM_DIR="$(nvm_cd ${NVM_CD_FLAGS} "$(dirname "${NVM_SCRIPT_SOURCE:-$0}")" >/dev/null && \pwd)" 

• $NVM_CD_FLAGS = ""
• $NVM_SCRIPT_SOURCE = ""
• $0 = "/home/osmc/dev/foo/start.sh"

So the command does: npm /home/osmc/dev/foo/ && pwd. That's why $NVM_DIR = "${HOME}/dev/foo"

Changing the current directory before running nvm.sh has no effect.

---

This workaround works:

#!/bin/sh

NVM_DIR=${HOME}/.nvm
. ${NVM_DIR}/nvm.sh
node src/index.js

But it's complicated just to run a JavaScript file.

If my proposal for npm-exec to use the default version by default is implemented, all you'll need to do is ExecStart=/home/osmc/.nvm/nvm-exec node src/index.js to run the JavaScript file using the default version of node. No need for NODE_VERSION=default, .npmrc file or a shell script.