I’m facing a problem with installing a global npm package. When I execute npm install -g create-react-app, it indicates success with no errors, but afterwards, I can’t find the create-react-app command in my terminal. Instead, I receive a “command not found” error message.
I’ve checked the standard location at user/appdata/roaming/npm/node_modules, and noticed the package is missing. However, running npm list -g shows:
It appears the package is being installed in the Nodist bin folder rather than the normal npm directory. I attempted to add C:\Program Files (x86)\Nodist\bin to my system PATH variable, yet that didn’t resolve the issue. Has anyone else experienced this? What should I do to ensure that globally installed npm packages work correctly when they’re placed in the nodist folder?
nodist can mess up global install paths completely. Run npm config get prefix to check where npm thinks globals should go. If it’s pointing to the nodist path, fix it with npm config set prefix %APPDATA%\npm and reinstall create-react-app.
Yeah, this happens all the time with Nodist. The issue is that Nodist redirects global npm installs to its own folders but doesn’t always create the executable shims properly. Try running nodist npm global after you install any global package - this forces Nodist to create the command wrappers it needs. You’ll probably need to restart your terminal completely after that. Also check that C:\Program Files (x86)\Nodist\bin is the first Node-related path in your PATH. If you’ve got multiple Node installations, they can mess with each other. Look for any other Node paths that might be jumping ahead in line.
Been wrestling with Nodist for years and honestly, the constant PATH juggling gets old fast.
Every time someone joins our team, they hit this exact same wall.
What you’re seeing is totally normal Nodist behavior, but fixing it manually is a pain. The shim generation fails randomly, and you end up debugging instead of building.
I switched our entire dev workflow to handle this kind of environment setup automatically. Instead of fighting with global installs and PATH variables, I set up automated flows that handle all the tooling setup without touching the system configuration.
Now when anyone needs create-react-app or any other tool, the automation just spins up the right environment with everything configured properly. No more “works on my machine” issues or spending hours debugging why global packages aren’t found.
The setup runs consistently across different machines and handles all the quirks that Nodist and other version managers throw at you. Plus it scales to handle way more complex toolchains as your projects grow.
def check your nodist config - might be messing with npm’s global path. Try nodist npm match, it syncs npm with your current node version. had the same prob before and this worked for me.
Classic Nodist PATH issue. Nodist intercepts global npm installs but sometimes doesn’t expose the executables properly. It’s not just about adding the bin folder to PATH - Nodist needs to actually create the executable wrappers. First run nodist --help to check your version, then nodist env to see what paths it’s managing. After that, uninstall with npm uninstall -g create-react-app and reinstall. Nodist sometimes needs a fresh install to generate the command shims properly. If it still doesn’t work, check if there’s a create-react-app.cmd file in the Nodist bin directory - if it’s missing, that’s why the command isn’t found despite correct PATH settings.