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

I'm trying to set up less on phpstorm so I can compile .less files to .css on save. I have installed node.js and the next step (according to this [

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][1]) is running this command in the terminal

npm install -g less

However when I do this I get these errors

☁ ~ npm install -g less
npm WARN install Couldn't install optional dependency: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/Users/brentscholl/.npm/mkdirp/0.5.1'
npm WARN install Couldn't install optional dependency: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/Users/brentscholl/.npm/graceful-fs/3.0.8'
npm WARN install Couldn't install optional dependency: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/Users/brentscholl/.npm/extend/3.0.0'
npm WARN install Couldn't install optional dependency: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/Users/brentscholl/.npm/readable-stream/2.0.4'
npm WARN install Couldn't install optional dependency: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/Users/brentscholl/.npm/chalk/1.1.1'
npm WARN install Couldn't install optional dependency: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/Users/brentscholl/.npm/xtend/4.0.1'
npm WARN checkPermissions Missing write access to /usr/local/lib/node_modules
/usr/local/lib
└─┬ [email protected]
├─┬ [email protected]
│ └── [email protected]
├── [email protected]
├── [email protected]
├─┬ [email protected]
│ └── [email protected]
└─┬ [email protected]
└── [email protected]

npm ERR! Darwin 15.0.0
npm ERR! argv "/usr/local/bin/node" "/usr/local/bin/npm" "install" "-g" "less"
npm ERR! node v5.0.0
npm ERR! npm v3.3.6
npm ERR! path /usr/local/lib/node_modules
npm ERR! code EACCES
npm ERR! errno -13
npm ERR! syscall access

npm ERR! Error: EACCES: permission denied, access '/usr/local/lib/node_modules'
npm ERR! at Error (native)
npm ERR! { [Error: EACCES: permission denied, access '/usr/local/lib/node_modules']
npm ERR! errno: -13,
npm ERR! code: 'EACCES',
npm ERR! syscall: 'access',
npm ERR! path: '/usr/local/lib/node_modules' }
npm ERR!
npm ERR! Please try running this command again as root/Administrator.

npm ERR! Please include the following file with any support request:
npm ERR! /Users/brentscholl/npm-debug.log


I'm a complete noob here and not sure what to do next. Any help would be very appreciated!


[1]:

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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

Reinstall node and npm with **Node Version Manger** (as per [written in npm documentation][1]) to avoid permission errors:

In OSX:

curl -o-

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| bash

or follow this article:

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*Windows users should install [nvm-windows][3].
For further help how to install nvm refer the [nvm readme][2].*

Then choose for example:

nvm install 8.0.0
nvm use 8.0

Now you can give another try:

npm install -g less



[1]:

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[2]:

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[3]:

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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:

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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:

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

**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

1. Open folder containing node_modules

open /usr/local/lib/
2. Do a cmd+I on the node_modules folder to open the permission dialog
3. Add your user to have read and write access in the sharing and permissions section
[![enter image description here][1]][1]


[1]:

For my mac environment

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

solve the issue

In linux make sure getting all authority with:

sudo su

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

[

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][1]


[1]:

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[![enter image description here][1]][1]Use sudo -i to switch to $root, then execute npm install -g xxxx


[1]:

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

Add your user to Sharing & Permissions.
Read & Write Permissions.
[![enter image description here][1]][1]


[1]:

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

It has helped me.