168

Usually I can install a library using npm but today when installing yeoman I encountered this errors. Please help to figure out what's root cause.

D:\Works\phonegap\ionic\todo>npm install -g yo
    module.js:340
    throw err;
          ^
Error: Cannot find module 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin\node_modules\npm\bin\npm-cli.js'

at Function.Module._resolveFilename (module.js:338:15)
at Function.Module._load (module.js:280:25)
at Function.Module.runMain (module.js:497:10)
at startup (node.js:119:16)
at node.js:906:3

I looked into the folder:

C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin\

but don't see node_modules folder as the error described.

I also try to find npm-cli.js and see it's actually in C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin\

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4
  • when you installed node?
    – Mritunjay
    Commented Jul 13, 2014 at 10:55
  • 2
    Sorry, I forgot have reinstalled node to fix this error so there's no node_modules folder now. But before that I also checked C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin\node_mod ules\ but didn't see npm folder in it.
    – user1192476
    Commented Jul 13, 2014 at 11:00
  • I have answer for this. Will post after 8 hours. Thanks.
    – user1192476
    Commented Jul 13, 2014 at 12:36
  • 2
    Well, I guess somebody may need this tip: click the node.js installer, and choose "repair", so the error was resolved.
    – vainquit
    Commented May 29, 2021 at 12:08

46 Answers 46

Reset to default
1
2
161

It turns out the issue is due to the wrong path of node in system variable. The path is currently pointing to

(I really don't know when I modified it)

C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin

so I change to 

C:\Program Files\nodejs

and it works like a charm.

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9
  • 29
    Had the same problem. Never changed the path, so I am guessing that this must have happened when I upgraded Node.
    – Nils Magne Lunde
    Commented Aug 26, 2014 at 11:30
  • 1
    I think for me the issue start to happen when I installed Electron :(
    – Charles Walker
    Commented Jul 15, 2017 at 15:53
  • 6
    where did you change this? what file?
    – CodeToad
    Commented Nov 27, 2017 at 15:39
  • 1
    Enviroment variables.
    – Crozeta
    Commented Apr 2, 2018 at 18:18
  • 1
    On the latest version, after upgrading, you might see both paths on your environment variables, and the old one (C:\Users\YOUR_USER\AppData\Roaming\npm) takes precedence over the new one (C:\Program Files\nodejs). Removing the former solves the issue for me.
    – Shahroq
    Commented Aug 8, 2020 at 8:47
71

I just repaired my NodeJS installation and it worked for me!

Go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features --> find NodeJS and choose option repair to repair it. Hope this helps.

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9
  • 9
    This worked for me, but it's called "apps and features" on windows 10.
    – PeonProgrammer
    Commented Apr 14, 2019 at 16:01
  • There was no npm folder in node_modules in my case and all I did was executing a command npm install express, repairing it helped.
    – Lalit Fauzdar
    Commented Mar 11, 2020 at 9:19
  • Thank you for this! my issue was resolved after repairing Nodejs under 'apps and features' on my windows pc!
    – missjcohen
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 1:28
  • 3
    This answer should be higher up the list. Thank you!
    – mfisher91
    Commented Jan 8, 2021 at 10:19
  • 1
    This definitely worked for two colleagues having the same issue
    – dbreaux
    Commented Oct 24, 2023 at 22:27
65

You need to run this in the command line.

SET PATH=C:\Program Files\Nodejs;%PATH%
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3
  • bash shell in windows
    – Prathap Kudupu
    Commented Mar 1, 2018 at 0:34
  • I had this issue when I upgraded my version of node. Your solution worked for me perfectly. I didn't have to delete any node_modules folder
    – AllJs
    Commented Jul 23, 2018 at 7:13
  • I had to move this path further up to give it higher precedence after attempting to update npm using npm (npm -i npm).
    – Corey Alix
    Commented May 15, 2019 at 12:39
50

Copy the directory named npm from your installed node path (In my case the npm directory was available in C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules).

Navigate to C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules and paste the copied npm directory there.

This method worked for me when I had the same error. . .

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4
  • 5
    Thank you, this worked great after an upgrade messed up my NPM installation and repair and reinstall didn't fix it.
    – Slbox
    Commented Jul 11, 2018 at 20:08
  • In which files we want to make this change.Please guide
    – Ibad Shaikh
    Commented Nov 7, 2020 at 10:10
  • Had to do something similar. Copied the nodejs folder into `C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming` and renamed 'nodejs' to 'npm'. Then things started working.
    – ouflak
    Commented Nov 1, 2023 at 9:00
  • after updating to node v20.13.0, this worked for me.
    – dezox
    Commented May 9 at 12:06
32

You may also have this problem if in your path you have C:\Program Files\nodejs and C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin. Remove the latter from the path

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1
  • 11
    in the path where?
    – CodeToad
    Commented Nov 27, 2017 at 15:38
20

This not the same case as in the question, but might be helpful for someone facing the similar issue. On Windows, if you are calling npm commands from some CI/automation tool, you might run into the error:

Error: Cannot find module 'SOME_PATH\node_modules\npm\bin\npm-cli.js'

where SOME_PATH is not Program Files/... but some project directory instead. So npm tries to find npm-cli.js inside the project root directory instead of searching it in Program Files/nodejs.

The reason is npm.cmd script:

:: Created by npm, please don't edit manually.
@ECHO OFF

SETLOCAL

SET "NODE_EXE=%~dp0\node.exe"
IF NOT EXIST "%NODE_EXE%" (
  SET "NODE_EXE=node"
)


SET "NPM_CLI_JS=%~dp0\node_modules\npm\bin\npm-cli.js"
FOR /F "delims=" %%F IN ('CALL "%NODE_EXE%" "%NPM_CLI_JS%" prefix -g') DO (
  SET "NPM_PREFIX_NPM_CLI_JS=%%F\node_modules\npm\bin\npm-cli.js"
)
IF EXIST "%NPM_PREFIX_NPM_CLI_JS%" (
  SET "NPM_CLI_JS=%NPM_PREFIX_NPM_CLI_JS%"
)

"%NODE_EXE%" "%NPM_CLI_JS%" %*

This script uses %~dp0 to lookup the npm-cli.js but some automation tools could set work directory in the way that %~dp0 points to the local project dir so the script works incorrectly.

One possible solution could be changing the npm calls from this

npm.cmd install

to this

cmd.exe /c npm.cmd install
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2
  • If you need to set the WorkingDirectory to run the install command in a specific directory this does not solve the problem
    – Daniel Fisher lennybacon
    Commented Mar 28, 2018 at 7:58
  • What worked for me is to run a change directory with the npm command afterwards: "cmd.exe" /c cd /d "T:\TfsAgent_work\1\s\src\WebHost\" && "C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm.cmd" install
    – Daniel Fisher lennybacon
    Commented Mar 28, 2018 at 8:39
17

This started happening for me after I installed GoogleChrome/puppeteer, the solution was to re-install npm:

$ npm i npm@latest

or

$ npm install npm@latest
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1
  • Avoid this. Your node version should be in sync with npm version for better support. Even though npm will say otherwise when ran. Upgrade both together or keep the version installed together. Unless you are just testing / checking things out. Likewise with puppeteer (my upgrade related to puppeteer as well).
    – TamusJRoyce
    Commented Jun 15, 2022 at 20:47
15

I encountered the same problem with node 8.5 when installed with nvm. The below solution worked for me

$ nvm uninstall 8.5
8.5.0
Uninstalling node v8.5.0...Error removing node v8.5.0
Manually remove C:\Users\Omkar\AppData\Roaming\nvm\v8.5.0.

$ nvm install 8.5
8.5.0
Downloading node.js version 8.5.0 (64-bit)...
Complete
Creating C:\Users\Omkar\AppData\Roaming\nvm\temp

Downloading npm version 5.3.0... Complete
Installing npm v5.3.0...

Installation complete. If you want to use this version, type

nvm use 8.5.0

Omkar@VAST-0137 MINGW64 /d/code

This worked for me cause node 8.5 was not correctly installed before with nvm. I figured it out cause "npm\bin\npm-cli.js" folders and files were not created inside node_modules before.

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3
  • 2
    My path looked OK; Uninstall/Reinstall resolved the issue for me.
    – Mark Maslar
    Commented Aug 18, 2018 at 20:03
  • I had some weird issues with old node even when I switched to newer version. So I uninstalled old node and reinstalled new again. By this way I fixed the issue with cli :) thanks
    – Andrej Gaspar
    Commented Dec 21, 2018 at 14:14
  • Same thing, my path was OK and I'm using NVM to switch between node versions for my projects. nvm install 8.11 said it worked but for some reasons not : the node_modules directory was empty, so npm didn't worked. doing nvm uninstall 8.11 then agaon nvm install 8.11 fixed it!
    – TooLiPHoNe.NeT
    Commented May 3, 2021 at 9:08
9

None of the other answers worked for me.

Here is what I write (in a git bash shell on windows ):

PATH="/c/Program Files/nodejs/:$PATH" npm run yeoman
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0
7

On a Mac:

I was running this out of the Maven com.github.eirslett Frontend Plugin when I had the same error.

Eventually I had to:

Install Node.js via the installer download here: http://nodejs.org/

Delete all the node/ and node_modules/ folders from within my maven build structure.

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2
7

In addition to above I had to remove C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\npm also. This helped.

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1
  • 1
    On my system that's where global packages reside; if you remove it from the path then you may no longer be able to run gulp, etc.
    – TrueWill
    Commented Jul 6, 2017 at 20:04
6

There are actually 2 paths which was added to your System's Variable when upgrading to nodejs latest version.
1. C:\Program Files\nodejs
2. C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin
For windows 7/8/8.1 users, they will not have an Environment Variables Windows 10 smart GUI.
Anyway, all you have to do is search for "C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin" and remove it.
Also, remove "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\npm" from your environment variables. I am posting this answer because I wasted my 10hrs searching for the solution on internet. By combining the above answer I finally make it through the problem.

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6

Don't change any environment variables

It was the installer which caused the issue and did not install all the required file.

I just repaired the NODEJS setup on windows 7 and it works very well. May be you can reinstall, just incase something does not work.

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5

I had the same issue on windows. I just repaired Node and it worked fine after a restart of the command on windows.

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4

On Windows 10:

  1. Press windows key, type edit the system environment variables then enter.
  2. Click environment variables...
  3. On the lower half of the window that opened with title Environment Variables there you will see a table titled System Variables, with two columns, the first one titled variable.
  4. Find the row with variable Path and click it.
  5. Click edit which will open a window titled Edit evironment variable.
  6. Here if you find

C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin

select it, and click edit button to your right, then edit the field to the path where you have the nodejs folder, in my case it was just shortening it to :

C:\Program Files\nodejs

Then I closed all my cmd or powershell terminals, opened them again and npm was working.

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3

None of the solutions here worked for me but after I restarted my system and did npm install again, it worked. I would guess one or more processes I ran before held unto it.

Simple PC restart on Windows 10 did the magic for me!

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1
  • Worked for me as well! Error started probably after a Win10 update
    – Arno van Oordt
    Commented Jun 26, 2020 at 6:52
3

In my case, I was using nvm-windows 1.1.6 , and I updated my nodejs version using nvm install latest, which eventually told me that nodejs and npm are installed, however when I tried to do npm install, I received

Error: Cannot find module 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin\npm-cli.js'

upon checking nvm-windows structure, I found that C:\Program Files\nodejs was symlinked to %APPDATA%\nvm\NODE_VERSION, (NODE_VERSION was v9.7.1 in my case) which has the folder node_modules having nothing inside, caused this error. The solution was to copy the npm folder from one of my previous versions' node_modules folder and paste it in. I then updated my npm with npm install npm@next -g and everything started working again.

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2

I know it is an older post but as I write this the version of Node js is 12.13.1. People face this generally because they might have already installed a previous version of Node js which added the following to the system path.

C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin

However, the newer versions need to add the following:-

C:\Program Files\nodejs

I mean to say the path where you installed the Nodejs. The default is

C:\Program Files\nodejs

However, if you gave a different location you should point it to that.

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2

I met the same issue before, caused by the additional npm path setting in path variable of the system Environment Variables. Just delete it, only keep the node path is enough. enter image description here

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2

In my case, corporate shenanigans.

After uninstall/reinstall, worked great.

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1

just run this command :

npm i npm@latest -g
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2
  • Welcome to Stack Overflow! Could you elaborate on what this does and how it answers the question?
    – anothernode
    Commented Jul 28, 2018 at 13:28
  • Avoid this. Your node version should be in sync with npm version for better support. Even though npm will say otherwise when ran. Upgrade both together or keep the version installed together. Unless you are just testing / checking things out.
    – TamusJRoyce
    Commented Jun 15, 2022 at 20:46
1

npm install -g npm@[version] fixed the problem

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1

For guys still coming around this thread:

  • install node from official site (check npm and node version to check whether installed properly, yes in a new terminal/cmd);
  • install nvm now and when prompt to whether manage current node with nvm click yes;
  • open new cmd and run nvm on.
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1
  • You don't need to install Node from the official site with nvm: you can install the latest version of Node with nvm running nvm install latest.
    – Marco Lackovic
    Commented Dec 18, 2019 at 15:08
1

Same Issue.

Resolved by copying the missing files from

C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\npm\bin

to

C:\Users\UserName\node_modules\npm\bin

The missing files are

  • npm
  • npm.cmd
  • npm-cli.js
  • npx
  • npx.cmd
  • npx-cli.js
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2
  • 1
    honestly this is such a good hack. I spent ages trying to fix what was wrong for this to work
    – momal
    Commented May 30, 2022 at 6:16
  • My case was very similar, but I had to copy the npm folder (which had bin and several other things) to the top level of my C drive
    – bobsbeenjamin
    Commented Feb 22 at 22:12
0

Solution for me in VS2017 (Under Tools | Options ... )

Under Tools | Options ...

I changed the path to: C:\Program Files\nodejs

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0

I run into this problem when installing node9.0.0 on windows7 at the end the solution was to just remove npm npm.cmd npx npx.cmd from C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin before doing this a workaround was to run C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm so that is one way so see if you have the same problem I had.

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0

create a npm folder manually inside node_modules and rerun the installer with repair options. It copies the missing files.

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0

For me none of the above worked, I just noticed that every time I do a "npm install..." any npm command just stop working. So every install I do, I have to run the NodeJS installation programme and select "repair". Until I find a real solution :)

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1
  • It is good to post solutions and also we appreciate this..But it wold be better if u explain logically rather than saying it Magically worked :)
    – Aousaf Rashid
    Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 21:11
0

Change the environment path variable C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin and open the command terminal and npm -v and

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0

I encountered the exact same problem today in a Linux server. And the reason is really simple as I didn't do make install after make and tried to directly call the generated npm. Thus the PATH and everything was a mess.

So for me, the solution is just to do make install after make and run the npm under .node/bin/npm.

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2

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