I’m having trouble setting up CoffeeScript on my system. When I try to install it using npm, I keep running into permission errors. Here’s what I’m dealing with:
$ npm install -g coffee-script
npm ERR! EACCES: permission denied, access '/usr/local/lib/node_modules'
npm ERR! Please try running this command again as root/Administrator.
I’m using Node.js v0.6.1 and npm 1.0.106 on macOS. I’ve read that using sudo isn’t recommended, but I’m not sure how to proceed. Any ideas on how to fix this without compromising security?
Update: I managed to get it working with sudo, but I’m still curious about the right way to handle permissions for /usr/local/lib. Any tips on that would be great!
hey, had same issue. try nvm (node version manager). it lets u install node n npm without root. just google ‘install nvm’ n follow steps. then use nvm to install node/npm, and youll be able to install coffee-script without sudo. worked 4 me!
I’ve dealt with similar permission issues before, and there’s actually a safer way to handle this without resorting to sudo. The root of the problem is that npm is trying to install packages globally in a directory that requires elevated permissions.
A better approach is to change npm’s default directory to one within your home folder. You can do this by running:
npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global
Then, add this to your ~/.profile or ~/.bash_profile:
export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH
After that, run source ~/.profile to update your current session.
This way, you can install global packages without sudo, and it’s much safer. It also helps keep your system directories clean. Just remember to use the new path when looking for globally installed binaries.
As for your /usr/local/lib permissions, it’s generally best to leave system directories as they are and work around them like this. Hope this helps!
I’ve encountered this issue before, and there’s a straightforward solution that doesn’t require sudo. Instead of installing CoffeeScript globally, you can install it as a dev dependency in your project. This approach avoids permission problems and keeps your global npm space clean.
First, navigate to your project directory. Then run:
npm install --save-dev coffeescript
This installs CoffeeScript locally in your project’s node_modules folder. To use the CoffeeScript compiler, you can add a script to your package.json:
“scripts”: {
“coffee”: “coffee”
}
Now you can run CoffeeScript commands using npm run coffee – [your command here]. This method is more secure and aligns with best practices for managing dependencies. It also ensures that different projects can use different versions of CoffeeScript if needed.