Visual Studio Code (Windows) Not Detecting Global NPM Modules

Question

I'm experiencing an issue where Visual Studio Code in Windows 10 is not able to detect globally installed NPM packages within the Integrated Terminal.

For example, if the windows command prompt I install @angular/cli via command npm install -g @angular/cli, within that command prompt I can execute @angular/cli commands such as ng --version without error. After that global npm module install, within Visual Studio Code, performing the same ng --version gives me the error:

The term 'ng' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

I can however within the integrated terminal successfully perform commands such as npm -v and node -v.

I have the following items in my system environment variables

C:\Program Files\nodejs\

%AppData%\npm

Are there Visual Studio Code user or system environment variables I'm missing to allow detection of global npm modules?

Thank you for any help you can provide.

Changing default shell to cmd.exe gives me the same errors regarding global npm modules. — Alexander Staroselsky, Jul 27 '17 at 15:17
so the problem i think is in the path variable .. check them in the global variables (if there are the path to the npm in AppData Roaming etc etc) — federico scamuzzi, Jul 27 '17 at 15:18
```npm install -g @angular/cli``` fixed it for me (also I updated node using npm) [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18412129/how-can-i-update-npm-on-windows] — cluis92, Sep 02 '20 at 18:37

score 83 · Answer 1 · edited Aug 02 '19 at 14:04

83

Visual Studio Code must be "Run as Administrator" for working Terminal Commands.

edited Aug 02 '19 at 14:04

LittleBobbyTables - Au Revoir

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answered Oct 31 '18 at 13:11

Jnyanendra Sethi

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Thanku so much bro..u have saved me.. u r champion for me.. – Laxminarayan Charan Aug 28 '20 at 15:49
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On my previous laptop (windows 10) the terminal worked without starting VSC as admin. Now on my new laptop (also win 10) it seems to only work when I start VCS as Admin each time. Very annoying... – Boommeister May 03 '21 at 12:00
@G-Unit same issue.. have u resolved it? – Laveen Ren Dec 05 '21 at 23:25
I solved it, but unfortunatly don't remember how :) – Boommeister Dec 06 '21 at 08:47

Alexander Staroselsky · Accepted Answer · 2020-11-09T20:09:44.697

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I was able to resolve the issue and use global npm commands in Visual Studio Code by modifying my system environment path variables to position %AppData%\npm before %ProgramFiles%\nodejs\ per npm troubleshooting tips

edited Nov 09 '20 at 20:09

answered Jul 27 '17 at 15:28

Alexander Staroselsky

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Please update the link to: https://docs.npmjs.com/getting-started/troubleshooting – Janos Vinceller Nov 09 '20 at 19:26
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For me, it worked only after killing existing terminal instance/ commands in VS code and then adding new terminal. Cause to outcome ratio is staggering though ;) – bharat1 Jan 28 '22 at 14:47

score 28 · Answer 3 · edited Jul 04 '19 at 10:57

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no need to do anything else just follow below steps -

right click on my computer (this pc).
go to properties.
click on advanced system setting.
click on environmental variable.
select path variable from system variable.
click on edit button.
add %AppData%\npm and %ProgramFiles%\nodejs\ at top of the list. 8 click on ok. ok. ok
restart your system.
after restart open visual studio code as run as administrative mode.
Enjoy...............!!!!!

enter image description here

edited Jul 04 '19 at 10:57

AKX

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answered Jul 04 '19 at 10:56

jagdish desai

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This solution worked exactly for me. No need to restart your system though. The ng command started working in VS Code Terminal. – Jagdish Chopde Jul 07 '19 at 08:31
worked for me. I had some issues updating my NPM packages after windows update and sometimes randomly, after adding these, I don't have any problems so far! – Michael Mar 11 '20 at 07:50
for me, %AppData%\npm and %ProgramFiles%\nodejs\ these path do not exists. Am I missing something after vs code installation? – Upendra Gughane Jan 27 '22 at 13:18

score 6 · Answer 4 · edited Jan 28 '22 at 11:44

6

Run Visual studio code as an administrator. Then type ng command. It should work

edited Jan 28 '22 at 11:44

Pathik Vejani

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answered Oct 20 '19 at 06:04

dev saha

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Welcome to SO! When you answer a question try to comment your answer a little bit. In this case, as there are some more answers, you should exposed the Cons and Pros of your answer. If not, just make a comment. – David García Bodego Oct 20 '19 at 06:29

score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 27 '20 at 14:53

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Reboot your computer , this worked for me

answered Aug 27 '20 at 14:53

xenonsmart dev

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I freshly installed Node.js (NPM) and I had to restart my computer also to get NPM to register in my terminal. – justinl Dec 02 '21 at 01:04

score 3 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 13 '20 at 15:35

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If you have entered the environment variable and it is still not recognized and if you don't want to reboot your computer because you have so many things running then just reboot your Visual Studio Or Visual Studio Code and then Open Terminal (ctrl + `) and run

npm install

Now it will work fine.

answered Sep 13 '20 at 15:35

Maz341

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Thanks, not even a VS Code Reload command will do this: you must exit all instances of the program. – Vael Victus Oct 27 '20 at 00:47
exactly. :) Cheers! – Maz341 Oct 27 '20 at 18:36

score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Mar 26 '18 at 08:24

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You can resolve the issue by opening the VS Code Terminal and type

npm install -g @angular/cli

This should resolve the issue.

answered Mar 26 '18 at 08:24

Ben

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Thanks, it works. Wondering why the terminal for VS code behaves differently from the native one. – Karthick Manoharan Jul 20 '18 at 20:54
@KarthickManoharan It is because many of the environment variables you need to define for windows is predefined there. BTW did you downvote the answer? – Ben Jul 21 '18 at 13:42

cluis92 · Answer 8 · 2020-09-02T18:49:24.530

Run powershell or cmd prompt in admin mode.
Check if npm and node commands work (if not, then check environment variables as others have mentioned).
Update node using npm [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18412129/how-can-i-update- npm-on-windows]
- Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser -Force
- npm install -g npm-windows-upgrade
- npm-windows-upgrade
Run npm install -g @angular/cli
Run ng --version in Visual Studio Code to see if it's now working.

Sandeep Nandey · Answer 9 · 2020-10-09T06:29:54.720

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If you do not have access to Environmental variable (office machines).

You can try to run command like this:

npm run <your angular command>

it works as well, just need to add npm run before ng command

Example -> npm run ng g c shop/cart

edited Oct 09 '20 at 06:29

answered Oct 09 '20 at 06:16

Sandeep Nandey

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score 0 · Answer 10 · answered May 23 '19 at 17:05

I found that adding %AppData%\npm to your Path variable made it work for PowerShell and the Command Prompt, it still did not work for the integrated PowerShell in VS Code for me.

When I changed it from %AppData%\npm to the actual path C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\npm where <USER> is your user directory, and reopened VS Code it started working.

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Dec 02 '21 at 08:32

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To me the solution was adding the extensions for npm:

answered Dec 02 '21 at 08:32

Laura Liparulo

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score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Dec 23 '22 at 23:36

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Additionaly to all the good advice here, make sure that you have node.js installed on your machine.

answered Dec 23 '22 at 23:36

myroslav

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Visual Studio Code (Windows) Not Detecting Global NPM Modules

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