nodevm

Install Node.js through nvm, for one user, with global packages

Purpose

Installs nvm into a single user's home directory, uses it to install one pinned Node.js version under an alias, and installs a list of global npm packages for that user.

Per-user, not system-wide. Nothing is placed on the system PATH, and another user on the same host is unaffected — which is the point: version pinning belongs to whoever runs the app.

What This Cube Does

Installs build dependencies with apt, as root — build-essential, libssl-dev, libtool, cmake, and the cairo/pango/png/jpeg/vips/rsvg/pixman headers that native addons need. The package index is refreshed first: a box nobody has updated lists .deb versions the mirror has already dropped.
Installs nvm for USER via the official install script, then nvm install <VERSION> and nvm alias <ALIAS> <VERSION>.
Installs GLOBAL_PACKAGES with npm install -g, as USER.

Configuration

Variable	Default	What it does
`VERSION`	`v22.20.0`	the Node.js version nvm installs. A pin, not "latest LTS" — nvm's own version strings work, so `--lts` or `22` are accepted too.
`USER`	`vagrant`	the user nvm is installed for. Everything lands in that user's `~/.nvm`.
`ALIAS`	`nodelts`	the nvm alias pointing at `VERSION`, so later cubes and scripts can say `nvm use nodelts` without knowing the number.
`GLOBAL_PACKAGES`	`pm2 yarn local-web-server node-gyp inquirer execa @dotenvx/dotenvx`	space-separated, passed to one `npm install -g`. Setting it replaces the list rather than adding to it.
`SHELL`	`fish`	the login shell to install through — `fish` or `bash`. See below.

`SHELL`

nvm wires itself into whichever shell installed it, so this is not cosmetic.

fish (default) additionally requires Oh My Fish, because loading nvm goes through the omf install nvm plugin. user:add installs both, which is the usual way a host arrives here. The cube fails with one line, before changing anything, if SHELL=fish on a host with no fish.
bash needs nothing beyond bash. Use it on a host where user:add has not run.

The default stays fish so that an existing user — whose login shell user:add set to fish — keeps getting a Node that their shell can actually see. Switching would install it invisibly.

Dependencies

None declared: the cube runs standalone. With SHELL=fish it does have a real prerequisite (fish + Oh My Fish, which user:add provides), but user:add is deliberately not a declared dependency — it would create a user who is normally meant to already exist. SHELL=bash is the standalone path.

Post-Installation

node is on USER's PATH in a login shell, not in root's and not in a non-interactive one. To check:

su - <USER> -c 'node --version && npm --version'

From a bash script that is not a login shell, load nvm first:

export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"; . "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"
nvm use nodelts

PM2 — process manager

pm2 is in the default GLOBAL_PACKAGES, so it is installed unless you replaced the list.

pm2 start app.js              # Start application
pm2 list                      # List running apps
pm2 stop app                  # Stop application
pm2 restart app               # Restart application
pm2 logs                      # View logs
pm2 startup                   # Enable PM2 on boot
pm2 save                      # Save current process list

pm2 startup prints a sudo command to run; it does not enable itself.

Notes

Node.js is installed per user, under ~/.nvm for USER.
Global packages belong to that user too, not to everyone on the host.
Run the cube again with a different VERSION and ALIAS to have several versions side by side; nvm is built for exactly that.

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