Install nodeenv with Homebrew, apt, Nix

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• nodeenv

Project history

GitHub metadata shows `ekalinin/nodeenv` was created on 2011-03-29. The project documentation describes isolated Node.js environments that do not share libraries with other nodeenv environments, plus integration with Python virtualenv.

PyPI metadata identifies the package as `Node.js virtual environment builder`. The PyPI JSON queried on 2026-07-01 listed version 1.10.0 as the package version and included release uploads back to at least 0.10.0 on 2014-07-11. GitHub releases listed 1.10.0 published on 2025-12-20.

Adoption history

By 2026-07-01, GitHub metadata reported 1784 stars and 221 forks. Homebrew's formula API reported stable version 1.10.0 and 669 installs over 365 days. That is modest for Homebrew, which fits a tool more often installed through pip inside Python-centric workflows.

The adoption niche is real but specific: projects that already use Python virtual environments and need Node.js or npm packages isolated with the same activation flow. The docs explicitly show `nodeenv -p` adding Node.js into an existing Python virtualenv.

How it is used

The basic workflow is `nodeenv env`, activate with `. env/bin/activate`, run `node` and `npm`, then leave with `deactivate_node`. Advanced usage covers listing available Node.js versions, using `--node=<version>`, using system Node with `--node=system`, installing from requirements files, choosing prebuilt binaries or source builds, mirrors, custom prompts, and updating an existing environment from a requirements file.

Package nerds reach for nodeenv when the Node dependency is subordinate to a Python project: documentation builds, asset pipelines, frontend test tooling, or old stacks that want `pip install nodeenv` rather than a separate language manager.

Why package nerds care

The important distinction is that nodeenv is an environment builder, not mainly an interactive version switcher. It belongs near virtualenv, tox, and Python packaging workflows as much as near nvm or nodenv.

Timeline

• 2011-03-29: GitHub repository `ekalinin/nodeenv` was created.
• 2014-07-11: PyPI JSON included upload metadata for release 0.10.0.
• 2022-06-25: GitHub release 1.7.0 was published.
• 2024-06-04: GitHub release 1.9.1 was published.
• 2025-12-20: GitHub release 1.10.0 was published.
• 2026-07-01: Homebrew formula API reported stable version 1.10.0.

Related projects

• virtualenv
• pip
• tox
• nvm
• nodenv

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/ekalinin/nodeenv
• https://ekalinin.github.io/nodeenv/
• https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/nodeenv.json
• https://github.com/ekalinin/nodeenv
• https://github.com/ekalinin/nodeenv/releases
• https://pypi.org/project/nodeenv/
• https://pypi.org/pypi/nodeenv/json
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ekalinin/nodeenv/master/README.rst