How to fix Error: Node.js version 10.x is required, but 8.x is running in Node.js

First, identify the version mismatch by checking what's running versus what's required.

Check your current Node.js version:

node --version
# or
node -v

Check what version your project requires in package.json:

cat package.json | grep -A 2 "engines"

You should see output like:

"engines": {
  "node": ">=10.0.0"
}

Compare these versions to understand the gap.

The most reliable way to manage multiple Node.js versions is using nvm (Node Version Manager).

Install nvm (Linux/macOS):

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
# Restart your terminal after installation

For Windows, use nvm-windows:

# Download and install from: https://github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows/releases

Install the required Node.js version:

nvm install 10.24.1  # Replace with your required version

Switch to the required version:

nvm use 10.24.1

Verify the change:

node --version

To avoid manually switching versions, create an .nvmrc file in your project root.

Create .nvmrc with the required version:

echo "10.24.1" > .nvmrc

Or if you want to match package.json engines field:

node -p "require('./package.json').engines.node" > .nvmrc

Now when you enter the project directory, run:

nvm use

This will automatically switch to the version specified in .nvmrc.

For automatic switching, add this to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

# Auto-switch Node version with .nvmrc
autoload -U add-zsh-hook
load-nvmrc() {
  if [[ -f .nvmrc && -r .nvmrc ]]; then
    nvm use
  fi
}
add-zsh-hook chpwd load-nvmrc
load-nvmrc

If you've switched Node.js versions, native modules need to be rebuilt.

Delete node_modules and package-lock.json:

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json

Clear npm cache:

npm cache clean --force

Reinstall dependencies:

npm install

If you only need to rebuild native modules without full reinstall:

npm rebuild

For specific packages with native bindings:

npm rebuild node-sass
npm rebuild bcrypt
# etc.

If you need to update version requirements to match your environment, modify package.json.

Update the engines field:

{
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=14.0.0",
    "npm": ">=6.0.0"
  }
}

To enforce strict version checking, enable engine-strict:

npm config set engine-strict true

Or create/update .npmrc in project root:

engine-strict=true

This will prevent npm from installing dependencies if the Node.js version doesn't match.

Note: Only update version requirements if you've tested compatibility. Don't arbitrarily change requirements just to bypass the error.

Ensure your CI/CD pipeline and deployment environments use the correct Node.js version.

For GitHub Actions (.github/workflows/ci.yml):

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: '10.x'  # Match your requirements

For Docker (Dockerfile):

FROM node:10.24.1-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production
COPY . .
CMD ["node", "index.js"]

For Heroku, create/update buildpack:

{
  "engines": {
    "node": "10.x"
  }
}

For Azure App Service, set WEBSITE_NODE_DEFAULT_VERSION:

az webapp config appsettings set --name <app-name> --resource-group <group-name> --settings WEBSITE_NODE_DEFAULT_VERSION="~10"