Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) using shared Node.js installation with Windows: Node.js npm & npx binaries not working

I could not install npm in WSL using Ubuntu 20.04 LTS in Windows 10.

However when I followed the instructions here I did manage to get it working. Note that it says it is for WSL2, but the steps for installing node are valid in a WSL1 environment (it's July 20 and I still cannot get WSL in my edition of Windows 10, argh!).

In a nutshell this solution gets you to install nvm (node version manager) in your WSL environement.

sudo apt-get install curl
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.35.3/install.sh | bash

You can then install a newer version of node which ships with npm by default e.g.

nvm install --lts

Any workaround? I have met the same situation where I hope to share the same node and npm between WSL and Windows, as I want to run them in a terminal (WSL) and in IDEA (Windows) at the same time.

I found that npm cannot be run through drviers, like using npm under C:/, which has been installed under F:/, resulting in an error:

internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:638
    throw err;
    ^

Error: Cannot find module 'C:\f\Users\aleen\AppData\Roaming\nvm\v10.21.0\node_modules\npm\bin\npm-cli.js'
    at Function.Module._resolveFilename (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:636:15)
    at Function.Module._load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:562:25)
    at Function.Module.runMain (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:831:12)
    at startup (internal/bootstrap/node.js:283:19)
    at bootstrapNodeJSCore (internal/bootstrap/node.js:623:3)

However, we always work in one driver, which means we can install npm under the common used driver (F:/ for me), and make an alias to run it inside the driver via relative path:

# ~/.bash_aliases
function npm() {
  $(realpath --relative-to="$(pwd)" /mnt/f/Program\ Files/nodejs)/npm $@
}
export -f npm

I have my own development environment, so I couldn't test it on the same environment of yours. But, I suggest that you should check whether npm under "Program Files" works well on WSL.

user@host:~$ /c/Program\ Files/nodejs/npm -v

In my case, another error occurs when running above command.

Error: EINVAL: invalid argument, uv_pipe_open

If it is the same on your environment, you may solve this issue first.

And, about module path issue, it seems to be caused by path; the original npm(under Program Files) and your symbolic link have different current path.

I modified the original npm as below:

#!/bin/sh
(set -o igncr) 2>/dev/null && set -o igncr; # cygwin encoding fix

basedir=`dirname "$0"`

echo $basedir  # Added code

case `uname` in
    *CYGWIN*) basedir=`cygpath -w "$basedir"`;;
esac
...

If you run the original npm and your symbolic link, $basedir will shows different results, and it causes module path issue.

If you can solve the first issue(uv_pipe_open error), how about adding the nodejs directory on your path instead of symbolic links?

What I did is I modified the npm bash file located at C:\Program Files\nodejs.

Replace this:

"$NODE_EXE" "$NPM_CLI_JS" "$@"

With this:

"$NODE_EXE" "/Program Files/nodejs/node_modules/npm/bin/npm-cli.js" "$@"

Then save it as a unix format file inside wsl.

Consolidating and expanding on existing answers ...

First, the primary answer here is:

• Do not attempt to use the Windows version of NodeJS in WSL/Linux.

  There are several reasons for this:

  1. The NodeJS toolchain for Windows is going to expect (a) Windows paths instead of Linux paths (the problem being seen in this question)

  2. Even if you workaround that (and that's like tilting at windmills), as @AnselmoPark pointed out in a comment on this answer:

     some node modules have different implementation on [Windows] and WSL

     Also see this question and its answer for some additional information.

• Instead, install and use the Linux version of the NodeJS toolchain within WSL.

  This is ultimately what BenSmith's answer is saying, but I would extend that to say that you can use any supported installation method for NodeJS under your Linux distribution. For instance, on Ubuntu, you can install from repo (but make sure your distribution has a supported version or install from PPA).

  Personally, I use n, but again, you can select whatever you are most comfortable with. The important thing is that you install the Linux version inside a WSL2 Linux distribution.

Secondary information, that hasn't been covered yet in any of these answers (but does come up in the comments as "still doesn't work") -- If you have installed both the Windows version and the Linux version (in WSL), you may end up in a situation like @Lazor did in the comments on this answer.

The problem happens because Windows Node provides npm as a shell script for those running Git Bash. However, this script is still pointing to the Windows version of the tools.

If the Windows NodeJS appears before the Linux version in the path, then (of course) it will take precedence. You need to either:

• Make sure that the Linux version comes first
• Or remove the Windows version.

Please do not follow the recommendations (like this answer) to completely remove all Windows paths from WSL, as that will severely limit your ability to run Windows applications in WSL (one of its great features).

Instead, using the Linux nvm (or n or other tools) is usually enough to place the Linux NodeJS directory first in the path.