System-wide NVM doesn't seem to work properly

[foxx]

As per #389 and #371, system-wide installs should be supported.

However I've done the following steps and it doesn't seem to work properly. Am I missing something here?

$ lsb_release -a
Description:    Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS
Release:    14.04
Codename:   trusty

Install works fine

root# curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.17.3/install.sh | \
  NVM_DIR=/usr/local/nvm bash
=> Downloading nvm as script to '/usr/local/nvm'
=> Source string already in /root/.bashrc
=> Close and reopen your terminal to start using nvm

Using as root works fine

root# source /usr/local/nvm/nvm.sh
root# nvm install 0.10.32
Now using node v0.10.32
root# nvm ls
->  v0.10.32

Using as user fails

user# nvm ls
         N/A
mkdir: cannot create directory ‘/usr/local/nvm/alias’: Permission denied

user# nvm use 0.10.32
N/A version is not installed yet

Install as user fails

user# nvm install 0.10.32
mkdir: cannot create directory ‘/usr/local/nvm/bin’: Permission denied
Binary download failed, trying source.
mkdir: cannot create directory ‘/usr/local/nvm/src’: Permission denied
nvm: install v0.10.32 failed!

[koenpunt]

Create a group deploy (my suggestion) and set the group of /usr/local/nvm to it.
Make the /usr/local/nvm group writeable and add user to group.

Example (run as root):

groupadd deploy
chgrp deploy -R /usr/local/nvm
chmod -R g+w /usr/local/nvm
usermod -aG deploy USERNAME

[koenpunt]

Optionally, set the umask of /usr/local/nvm to 2775 so that files created in that directory are group writable by default:

chmod 2775 /usr/local/nvm # Yes, without -R

[ljharb]

If you're doing a system-wide install, you've elected to manage permissions yourself (which is why your examples are failing) - @koenpunt's advice is solid.

It's very not recommended to share nvm across multiple users.

Also, for ubuntu-specific issues (thanks ubuntu!) see #394 for some extra tips.

[foxx]

Understood, I had assumed nvm worked by installing the binary in a system wide location, whilst still using ~/.nvm for local user usage. I'll opt for single user install instead as it's much easier, thanks both.

FWIW, would a docs patch be justified to explain this a bit better? Even if it's just a link to this issue for now?

[ljharb]

Sure, I'm always happy to review PRs, especially for documentation, which is hard to objectively make intuitive for many varieties of people - so all feedback is welcome.

[ljharb]

@foxx Any interest in that docs patch? If not, I'll close this issue for now.

[foxx]

@ljharb Sadly haven't got time to do this at the moment, feel free to close and I'll re-open when I get a chance, sorry!

[allonhadaya]

@koenpunt thanks for the suggestion of using a group to share nvm!

You can source nvm.sh automatically for all group members using this system-wide profile script:

if groups $USER | grep -q '\bdeploy\b' -; then
  . /usr/local/nvm/nvm.sh
fi

Make sure to substitute deploy for whichever group you chose to use.