asdf VS n

asdf or compatible .tool-versions file

In this article, we will use a version manager called asdf‑vm, or simply asdf.

This, but here are some things I've learned to do:

* Use a .local directory under my home directory instead of ~/bin. That's a great prefix when installing from source or tarball at the user level, keeps the top-level of the home directory from getting cluttered with /share /lib /include /etc /lib etc. etc.

* Reach for the package manager first when installing new software, unless there is a good reason not to. It makes keeping things up-to-date easy, and since I use Arch, which uses a rolling release, you pretty much get the latest stuff.

* If I can't get what I want from the package manager, I'll look at what is available using asdf-vm (https://asdf-vm.com/), and failing that, build from source or install from tarball.

* I don't use snap or the like.

I gave up on Windows over 20 years ago, and I can't say enough how liberating it has been. One of the nicest things is that there is a distro for almost every need (see https://distrowatch.com/). I use Arch; but your use case may point to a beginner-friendly distro, such as Mint, Ubuntu, etc., or a repeatable install type of distro, such as NixOS or Guix, or many others.

# Download asdf git clone https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf.git ~/.asdf --branch v0.15.0 # Add the following to ~/.zshrc . "$HOME/.asdf/asdf.sh" # Optional: Completions are configured by either a ZSH Framework asdf plugin # or by adding the following to your .zshrc: fpath=(${ASDF_DIR}/completions $fpath) autoload -Uz compinit && compinit

asdf is a popular version manager that uses a technique called "shimming" to switch between different versions of tools like Python, Node.js, and Ruby. It creates temporary paths to specific versions, modifying the environment to ensure that the correct version of a tool is used in different projects. However, this method can introduce performance overhead due to how these shims work.

n: Which is a long-standing, simple alternative primarily for macOS and Linux. (GitHub - tj/n)

I created the project in a WSL Ubuntu running on Windows 11. You can do this on Windows too, but in Linux I have been more productive, mainly because to switch between node versions I have been using "n" (I think it's better than nvm).

In the past I've used nvm, n, volta, corepack, nodeenv. While they all have their own strength, I converged to using proto as the tool of choice.

On OSX, when it comes to managing version of things in NodeJS world, there are many options nvm, n, nodenv, volta, homebrewfor NodeJS management and other heap for package manager versions.

N is another Node.js management tool designed to handle different versions of Node.js on your machine. The main advantage of using N over NVM is that global npm packages are unaffected when switching between different Node versions.

use n or nvm to manage installed node/npm versions.

I have node installed, via n

1 - n is a tool that allows you to easily switch between different versions of Node.js. Follow the official guide in case this does not work for you due to an update or need a command not highlighted below. Here's how you can use n to switch between Node.js versions:

Listing people's recommendations with links below. I'm glad I asked this question. I received a lot of good recommendations. Thanks All! * nvm (https://nvm.sh) - Simple to use and easy to follow instructions with more in-depth configuration for those that need it. Some experienced a slightly slower terminal. Supports nodjs, iojs, and node version per project/directory. * fnm (https://github.com/Schniz/fnm) - Built with speed in mind. It is like nvm, but faster. Also supports node version per project/directory. * Volta (https://volta.sh/) - Looks easy to use and has good documentation. * asdf (https://asdf-vm.com/) - Supports multiple runtimes and tools by adding plugins. Admittedly, is a bit confusing and more than I need right now (Node, Rust, Python, Ruby, etc.) * Homebrew (https://brew.sh/) - Not a version manager but can act like one by installing nvm, fnm, asdf, or others. Some additional configuration may be needed. * Proto (https://moonrepo.dev/proto) - Supports Bun, Deno, Node.js (npm, pnpm, yarn), Rust, and Go. Also good documentation. Setup looks a bit complex to me :/. * n (https://github.com/tj/n) - Supports Node and npm per project. Simple and to the point.