[BUG] npm v11.1.0 does not work on Node v22.13.1 despite saying it should

[Fishrock123]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

This issue exists in the latest npm version

• I am using the latest npm

Current Behavior

Take what you will from this. I was unable to upgrade my npm or do anything. It appears this is still the latest version of npm 11 and the latest version of node 22 at time of writing.

Running any npm install command results in:

npm version patch -m "chore(patch): release %s"
ERROR: npm v11.1.0 is known not to run on Node.js v22.13.1.  This version of npm supports the following node versions: `^20.17.0 || >=22.9.0`. You can find the latest version at https://nodejs.org/.

ERROR:
/Users/jsenkpiel/Library/Application Support/fnm/node-versions/v22.13.1/installation/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/semver/classes/semver.js:303



SyntaxError: Invalid or unexpected token
    at wrapSafe (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1512:18)
    at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1534:20)
    at Object..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1699:10)
    at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1313:32)
    at Function._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1123:12)
    at TracingChannel.traceSync (node:diagnostics_channel:322:14)
    at wrapModuleLoad (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:217:24)
    at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1335:12)
    at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:136:16)
    at Object.<anonymous> (/Users/jsenkpiel/Library/Application Support/fnm/node-versions/v22.13.1/installation/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/semver/functions/compare.js:1:16)

The actual error is also very unhelpful.

Invalid or unexpected token

Which/what token?? Where?? I can't fix this even if I wanted to.

---

Temporarily resolved by wiping my node install in fnm and re-installing. (And not upgrading npm.)

Expected Behavior

npm functions as normal for any given command.

Steps To Reproduce

1. Install Node.js stable (22.13.1).
2. Run npm i -g npm.
3. Try to run any npm install command.

Environment

• npm: 11.0.1
• Node.js: 22.13.1
• OS Name: macOS Sequoia 15.2 (24C101)
• System Model Name: MacBook Pro M4
• npm config: (Note: taken after I wiped my install to make things work again.)

; "user" config from /Users/jsenkpiel/.npmrc

<internal artifactory>:_authToken = (protected)
<internal artifactory>:_authToken = (protected)
prefer-offline = true
progress = false
; registry = "<internal artifactory>" ; overridden by project

; "project" config from <internal project>

message = "chore(patch): release %s"
registry = "<internal artifactory>"
tag-version-prefix = ""

; node bin location = /Users/jsenkpiel/Library/Application Support/fnm/node-versions/v22.13.1/installation/bin/node
; node version = v22.13.1
; npm local prefix = <internal project>
; npm version = 10.9.2
; cwd = <internal project>
; HOME = /Users/jsenkpiel
; Run `npm config ls -l` to show all defaults.

[milaninfy]

Here is my output of running series of steps and I can't reproduce the error. It might have something to do with your installation.

~/workarea/rep $ npm -v    
11.1.0
~/workarea/rep $ node -v
v22.13.1
~/workarea/rep $ npm init -y
Wrote to /Users/milaninfy/workarea/rep/package.json:

{
  "name": "rep",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
  },
  "keywords": [],
  "author": "",
  "license": "ISC",
  "type": "commonjs",
  "devDependencies": {
    "@actions/core": "^1.11.1"
  }
}



~/workarea/rep $ npm install lodash

added 8 packages, and audited 9 packages in 1s

found 0 vulnerabilities
~/workarea/rep $ npm version patch -m "chore(patch): release %s"  
v1.0.1

[milaninfy]

This is likely to be problem with your installation of node. Please check and fix installation if you are using node version managers like nvm, fnm etc.