How to manage multiple Node.js versions on macOS X

Here is a quick tip on how to install multiple Node.js versions (10, 12, 13 etc.) on macOS X and how to switch between them for your applications.

Installing Node via Homebrew

Install multiple Node versions using Homebrew. To install Homebrew run:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)"

Now install the Node versions you need using brew:

brew install node@<version>

# latest version
brew install node

# LTS 12
brew install node@12

# 10
brew install node@10

To check the default node version and installation path:

node -v # v13.11.0
which node # /usr/local/bin/node => /usr/local/opt/node@<version>/bin/node

Switch Node via alias

Add an alias to your .zshrc or .bash_profile for each installed Node version. Node is installed at /usr/local/opt/node@<version>/bin

alias node13='export PATH="/usr/local/opt/node@13/bin:$PATH"'
alias node12='export PATH="/usr/local/opt/node@12/bin:$PATH"'
alias node10='export PATH="/usr/local/opt/node@10/bin:$PATH"'

Now, to switch between the node versions, enter an alias node10 in your terminal. Execute node -v to verify that you are now using the correct node version.

Note: Alias only changes the Node version in the used terminal instance