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Cade's Dotfiles

`NODE_MODULE_VERSION` mismatch / `ERR_DLOPEN_FAILED` from an npm tool

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Source: Troubleshooting reference

Symptom: an npm-installed CLI dies loading a native addon, usually mid-script:

Error: The module '.../node_modules/better-sqlite3/build/Release/better_sqlite3.node'
was compiled against a different Node.js version using NODE_MODULE_VERSION 141.
This version of Node.js requires NODE_MODULE_VERSION 147.

Root cause: the package was installed under one Node major and is being run by another. Native addons are ABI-locked per major, and the bin shebang is #!/usr/bin/env node — so whichever Node is first on PATH wins. Two ways in:

  • Two Node layers. Globals installed under Homebrew’s node keg and under nvm. List them: npm ls -g --depth=0 --prefix "$(brew --prefix)" should show only npm. Remove strays with npm uninstall -g --prefix "$(brew --prefix)" <pkg> — nvm is the layer that owns npm globals.
  • PATH order. brew shellenv puts brew’s bin ahead of nvm’s; install/_lib.sh restores nvm-first for install scripts, but an ad-hoc shell can still invert it.

It hides well: only subcommands that actually load the addon fail. qmd collection show works while qmd update aborts, which reads like a broken index rather than a broken interpreter.

Fix: run it under the Node that installed it (command -v node should be under $NVM_DIR), or reinstall the package under the current Node (npm install -g <pkg>).