PickVerNode

🇪🇸 Versión en español: README.es.md

Switch your Node version from the VS Code status bar. No terminal, no memorizing commands.

What is it?

A VS Code extension that shows a status bar item (bottom right) with the active Node version: $(versions) Node 20.18.0.

One click opens a QuickPick with everything you can do: switch, install, uninstall and write .nvmrc.

It is not a version manager: it is a remote control for the one you already have (nvm, nvm-windows, fnm, Volta or asdf).

Why?

• See at a glance which Node version you are working with.
• Jump between projects that require different versions without opening a terminal.
• Install/uninstall versions without looking up each manager's syntax.
• Pin the project version in .nvmrc for the rest of the team.
• Get warned when the active version does not match what the project requires.

How it works

1. On startup it detects which manager you have installed (or force one with pickvernode.provider).
2. It asks that manager for the active version and the list of installed ones.
3. When you pick a version, it runs that manager's own command:

Install and uninstall run in a visible VS Code terminal (you see the manager's real progress); the extension watches the disk and notifies when the version appears or disappears.

Already-open terminals keep the old version. Reopen them.

Features

The version list

One click on the status bar opens a QuickPick split into three sections:

$(warning) Usar la version del proyecto (>=20 <21)    lo pide package.json (engines.node)
$(cloud-download) Instalar otra version...
$(file-code) Guardar .nvmrc (20.18.0)
$(trash) Desinstalar una version...
--- En uso ---
$(check) 20.18.0            LTS Iron - en uso        $(pass) Soporte hasta 2026-04-30
--- Instaladas ---
$(warning) 18.20.4          LTS Hydrogen             $(error) Sin soporte desde 2025-04-30
--- Disponibles para instalar ---
$(cloud-download) 24.9.0    LTS Krypton              $(pass) Soporte hasta 2028-04-30
$(cloud-download) 22.20.0   LTS Jod                  $(pass) Soporte hasta 2027-04-30

"Disponibles" = the Current release plus the newest release of every line still under support, so you install with one click instead of typing a version. Support dates come from the official nodejs/Release schedule; releases and codenames from nodejs.org/dist/index.json. Both are cached (1h / 24h) and the list opens anyway if the network takes more than 1.5s - just without the extra data. Turn the lookup off with pickvernode.showAvailableVersions.

Typing in the QuickPick also matches the description and detail: iron or 2027 filters the list.

Multi-root workspaces

With several folders open, the status bar follows the folder of the file you are editing: it reads that folder's .nvmrc/engines.node and warns against it. When PickVerNode prefixes the terminal PATH it writes it to that folder's own settings, so each folder opens its terminals with its own Node version (shell-scoped managers only: nvm POSIX and fnm - nvm-windows, Volta and asdf are machine-wide by design).

PickVerNode: Show the Node version per folder lists every folder, what it requires, whether the active version satisfies it and its packageManager. Picking one opens the file that pins it.

Terminal profile

The terminal dropdown gets a Node (PickVerNode) profile: it opens a shell whose PATH already points at the version this folder needs (the project's one if it is installed, otherwise the active one). Nothing is written to settings and already-open terminals are untouched - useful for a one-off command on a different version.

Package manager (corepack)

If the folder's package.json pins "packageManager": "pnpm@9.1.0", the tooltip shows it and the list offers Activar pnpm@9.1.0 con corepack, which runs corepack enable && corepack prepare pnpm@9.1.0 --activate in a visible terminal. Node version and package manager version get pinned together, which is what the project actually needs.

Language

PickVerNode follows VS Code's display language. English by default; switch VS Code to Spanish (Configure Display Language) and everything follows - notifications, lists, tooltip, walkthrough, command titles and setting descriptions.

Adding a language is two files and no code: l10n/bundle.l10n.<lang>.json (runtime strings, keyed by the English text) and package.nls.<lang>.json (command titles, settings, walkthrough). PRs welcome.

Status bar tooltip

Hovering the status bar item shows everything at a glance and acts as a menu:

Plus clickable links: switch, install, write .nvmrc, copy bin path, refresh, choose manager. When there is no project requirement the third row shows default de <manager> instead - so you always know why you are on that version. LTS/Current comes from nodejs.org/dist/index.json (cached 1h); with no network that part is simply omitted. Volta and asdf use shims, so they have no per-version bin folder and that row is hidden.

End-of-life warning

When the active version belongs to a Node line that no longer gets patches, the status bar turns orange and a notification fires once per version (No avisar de esta remembers the choice across windows). Dates come from the official nodejs/Release schedule, so no guessing: Node 18 ended on 2025-04-30, Node 20 on 2026-04-30.

Settings: pickvernode.warnEndOfLife (status bar) and pickvernode.notifyEndOfLife (notification).

Version mismatch warning

If the folder pins a Node version and the active one does not satisfy it, the status bar turns orange ($(versions) Node 18.20.4 $(warning)) and a notification offers to switch. Nothing is switched automatically - it only tells you, so it does not fight fnm/nvm shell hooks.

Where the required version is read from, in order:

1. .nvmrc - 20.18.0, 20, lts/*, lts/iron
2. .node-version
3. .tool-versions (asdf) - nodejs 20.18.0
4. package.json -> volta.node
5. package.json -> engines.node - semver ranges supported: >=18 <21, ^20.10.0, ~20.10, 18 || 20, 20.x

If no installed version satisfies the requirement, PickVerNode offers to install one that does: the notification button becomes Instalar la que pide and the first QuickPick entry becomes Instalar la version del proyecto (>=20 <21) - one click, no typing. When a suitable version is already installed the button names it (Cambiar a 20.18.0).

Settings: pickvernode.checkRequiredVersion (status bar warning, default true) and pickvernode.notifyRequiredVersion (notification, default true). The notification can also be muted per folder with its "No avisar aqui" button.

Tutorial

0. Requirement

Have one of these installed: nvm-windows, nvm, fnm, Volta or asdf.

If the status bar shows Node $(warning), none was detected.

1. Switch version

1. Click $(versions) Node X.Y.Z in the status bar (bottom right).
2. In the Instaladas list, pick a version. The current one has $(check) and says en uso.
3. A progress notification appears, then Node X.Y.Z activo.
4. Reopen your terminals so they pick up the change.

On Windows with nvm-windows a UAC prompt appears: it is required, nvm use needs admin to rebuild the symlink.

2. Install a version

1. Open the QuickPick -> Instalar una version...
2. Type the version. 20.18.0, 20, 20.18, lts or latest all work; prefixes resolve to the latest of that line (20 -> 20.19.4).
3. It is validated against https://nodejs.org/dist/index.json.
   • Not found -> warns and does not install.
   • Already installed -> offers to switch to it.
   • Offline -> only exact X.Y.Z is accepted, with a confirmation (unverified).
4. A terminal PickVerNode: install X.Y.Z opens with the manager's command (nvm install, fnm install, volta install node@, asdf install nodejs).
5. When done: Node X.Y.Z instalada + Usarla ahora button.

3. Uninstall a version

1. QuickPick -> Desinstalar una version...
2. Pick from the list (installed only, nothing to type by hand).
3. Confirm in the modal dialog. If the version is in use, it warns you will be left with no active node.
4. Runs in a terminal (nvm uninstall, fnm uninstall, asdf uninstall nodejs) and notifies when finished.

Volta cannot uninstall node versions: the option warns and does nothing.

4. Write .nvmrc

1. QuickPick -> Guardar .nvmrc (X.Y.Z) (only shown when a folder is open).
2. Writes .nvmrc at the root with the version in use.
   • If it exists, it is updated and the notice shows old -> new, with an Abrir button.
   • Multi-root: asks which folder to write it in.
3. Optional: pickvernode.autoWriteNvmrc: true updates it automatically on every switch.
4. Optional: pickvernode.nvmrcPrefixV: false writes 20.18.0 instead of v20.18.0.

5. Force a manager

If you have several installed and want a specific one:

• Ctrl+Shift+P -> PickVerNode: Choose the version manager (remembered across sessions), or
• set pickvernode.provider in your settings (nvm-windows, nvm, fnm, volta, asdf).

Settings

Technical notes

• nvm-windows needs a real console and admin rights: hence cmd.exe + Start-Process -Verb RunAs.
• On POSIX, nvm use only affects the shell that runs it; the persistent state is the default alias. To make VS Code terminals pick up the version, terminal.integrated.env.<os>.PATH is written (disable with pickvernode.updateTerminalEnv).
• Volta and asdf work with shims: the switch is global and does not touch VS Code's PATH.
• After install/uninstall the disk is polled every 3s, with a 15 min cap.
• Managers with a global scope (nvm-windows, Volta, asdf) affect every VS Code window. The status bar re-checks whenever the window regains focus, and every pickvernode.pollSeconds while focused, so a switch made from another window shows up here too.

Troubleshooting

Telemetry

PickVerNode collects anonymous, opt-out usage data to decide what to build next.

What is sent: an anonymous install id (vscode.env.machineId), OS and architecture, VS Code and extension version, which version manager was detected, the name of the command you ran, and whether the workspace is multi-root.

What is never sent: file paths, folder or repository names, file contents, environment variables, your Node versions' install locations, or anything typed into an input box.

How to turn it off (either one is enough):

• VS Code's global setting: telemetry.telemetryLevel -> off
• This extension only: pickvernode.telemetry -> false

Support

If PickVerNode saves you time, you can sponsor the project.

License

MIT