npm install -g less does not work: EACCES: permission denied

Using sudo is not recommended. It may give you permission issue later. While the above works, I am not a fan of changing folders owned by root to be writable for users, although it may only be an issue with multiple users. To work around that, you could use a group, with 'npm users' but that is also more administrative overhead. See here for the options to deal with permissions from the documentation: https://docs.npmjs.com/getting-started/fixing-npm-permissions

I would go for option 2:

To minimize the chance of permissions errors, you can configure npm to use a different directory. In this example, it will be a hidden directory on your home folder. Make a directory for global installations: mkdir ~/.npm-global Configure npm to use the new directory path: npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global' Open or create a ~/.profile file and add this line: export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH Back on the command line, update your system variables: source ~/.profile Test: Download a package globally without using sudo. npm install -g jshint If still show permission error run (mac os): sudo chown -R $USER ~/.npm-global

This works with the default ubuntu install of:

sudo apt-get install nodejs npm

I recommend nvm if you want more flexibility in managing versions: https://github.com/creationix/nvm

On MacOS use brew, it should work without sudo out of the box if you're on a recent npm version. Enjoy :)

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Run these commands in a terminal window (note: DON'T replace the $USER part... thats a linux command to get your user!):

sudo chown -R $USER ~/.npm
sudo chown -R $USER /usr/lib/node_modules
sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/node_modules

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Mac OS X Answer

You don't have write access to the node_modules directory

npm WARN checkPermissions Missing write access to /usr/local/lib/node_modules

Add your User to the directory with write access

Open folder containing node_modules open /usr/local/lib/ Do a cmd+I on the node_modules folder to open the permission dialog Add your user to have read and write access in the sharing and permissions section

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https://i.stack.imgur.com/vEvPi.png

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Reinstall node and npm with Node Version Manger (as per written in npm documentation) to avoid permission errors:

In OSX:

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.33.8/install.sh | bash

or follow this article:

http://dev.topheman.com/install-nvm-with-homebrew-to-use-multiple-versions-of-node-and-iojs-easily/

Windows users should install nvm-windows. For further help how to install nvm refer the nvm readme.

Then choose for example:

nvm install 8.0.0
nvm use 8.0

Now you can give another try:

npm install -g less

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For my mac environment

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/node_modules

solve the issue

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You can use this command with the root password to add permission for writing for node_module folder:

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/node_modules

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I have tried all the suggested solutions but nothing worked.

I am using macOS Catalina 10.15.3

Go to /usr/local/

Select bin folder > Get Info

https://i.stack.imgur.com/tNKSJ.png

And go to terminal and run npm install -g @ionic/cli

It has helped me.

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sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/node_modules This command will work

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You can try with sudo, like the following

sudo npm install -g less

If it does not work, you can refer to this link https://ionicframework.com/docs/developing/tips#resolving-permission-errors

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Try installing with sudo. I had a similar problem installing npm package globally. The problem occurs because current use does not have write permissions for making changes in directory.

Didn't work

npm i -g vsce 

Worked

sudo npm i -g vsce

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I have got the same problem. updating npm was not working for me either so I just decided to reinstall it.

what worked for me is uninstall node from my system using.

sudo apt-get remove nodejs    
sudo apt-get remove npm

end then reinstall it after update.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt install npm

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In linux make sure getting all authority with:

sudo su

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Another option is to download and install a new version using an installer.

https://nodejs.org/en/download/

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