Is it advisable to run npm as a superuser?

Having issues with npm errors while attempting to install/update packages without superuser permissions on a Linux system.

An alternative solution would be to run sudo npm install <package>, but I am hesitant about whether this is the best approach.

The recommended method involves taking ownership of the .npm directory, as suggested in various StackOverflow threads and blog entries.

This brings me to the question: why is running npm as superuser not advisable?

Answer №1

When using npm as a super user, there is a risk of running potentially harmful code that could disrupt your entire system. On the other hand, running npm as an unprivileged user limits the scope of any potential damage to just your own files.

A safer practice, especially on personal computers, is to install Node in your home directory instead of globally on the system. This eliminates the need to use sudo or su for commands like npm or make install.

I personally prefer to install versioned directories of Node either globally in /opt (requiring sudo) or locally in ~/opt. For instance:

wget https://nodejs.org/dist/v7.1.0/node-v7.1.0.tar.gz
tar xzvf node-v7.1.0.tar.gz
cd node-v7.1.0
./configure --prefix=$HOME/opt/node-v7.1.0
make && make test && make install

This allows me to create a symlink ~/opt/node pointing to ~/opt/node-v7.1.0, and update my PATH accordingly in .profile or .bashrc.

By avoiding superuser privileges, I can easily switch between different versions of Node and execute them without having to modify permissions. The detailed installation process can be found in some of my other answers on Stack Overflow.

  • node 5.5.0 already installed but node -v fetcher with “v4.2.1” on OS X & homebrew?
  • NodeJS API with external deps in other language

This answer mainly focuses on the risks of running npm as a superuser and suggests alternative methods, such as the ones explained in npm documentation under "Fixing npm permissions." Thank you RyanZim for mentioning this in the comments.

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