I found that setting the node version locally in a sub shell before calling code works well, while not changing the version in the current shell, e.g.
$ (nvm use 14; code .)
Therefore, to make it work transparently for any project folder, create a file .precode
in the project folder with shell commands to source before starting code - e.g.,
nvm use 14
Then add to ~/.bashrc
pre_code(){
if [ $# == 1 ] && [ -f ${1}/.precode ] ; then
echo "(source ${1}/.precode ; `which code` ${@})"
(source ${1}/.precode ; `which code` ${@})
else
`which code` ${@}
fi
}
alias code='pre_code'
(Note: Run source ~/.bashrc
in any shell opened before the edit in order for the edit to take effect.)
Then, assuming the necessary file ~/myproject/.precode
exists, starting code with
$ code ~/myproject
will result in some diagnostic output on the shell, e.g.
source github/myproject/.precode
Now using node v14.15.1 (npm v6.14.8)
as well launching a new vscode window with the correct node version in the terminal window and debugger. However, in the shell from which it was launched, the original node version remains, e.g.
$ node -v
v12.19.1