Getting Started

Install Volta

Unix Installation

On most Unix systems including macOS, you can install Volta with a single command:

curl https://get.volta.sh | bash

For bash, zsh, and fish, this installer will automatically update your console startup script. If you wish to prevent modifications to your console startup script, see Skipping Volta Setup. To manually configure your shell to use Volta, edit your console startup scripts to:

• Set the VOLTA_HOME variable to $HOME/.volta
• Add $VOLTA_HOME/bin to the beginning of your PATH variable

Windows Installation

For Windows, the recommended method of installing Volta is using winget:

winget install Volta.Volta

If you prefer, you can download the installer directly and run it manually to install Volta.

Windows Subsystem for Linux

If you are using Volta within the Windows Subsystem for Linux, follow the Unix installation guide above.

Manual Installation

If you prefer to manually install Volta, you can download the appropriate package for your operating system from the table below:

Platform	Package & Installation Instructions
Windows x86_64	volta-2.0.2-windows-x86_64.msi Double-click the MSI file and follow the installation wizard. The installer will automatically add Volta to your PATH.
Windows ARM64	volta-2.0.2-windows-arm64.msi Double-click the MSI file and follow the installation wizard. The installer will automatically add Volta to your PATH.
Windows x86_64 (ZIP)	volta-2.0.2-windows.zip Extract the ZIP file to a location of your choice. Add the extracted directory to your PATH environment variable.
Windows ARM64 (ZIP)	volta-2.0.2-windows-arm64.zip Extract the ZIP file to a location of your choice. Add the extracted directory to your PATH environment variable.
macOS x86_64/ARM64	volta-2.0.2-macos.tar.gz Extract the tarball and run the included install script: tar xzf volta-2.0.2-macos.tar.gz && ./volta-2.0.2-macos/install.sh
Linux x86_64	volta-2.0.2-linux.tar.gz Extract the tarball and run the included install script: tar xzf volta-2.0.2-linux.tar.gz && ./volta-2.0.2-linux/install.sh
Linux ARM	volta-2.0.2-linux-arm.tar.gz Extract the tarball and run the included install script: tar xzf volta-2.0.2-linux-arm.tar.gz && ./volta-2.0.2-linux-arm/install.sh

Windows Manual Installation Steps

1. Download the appropriate MSI installer for your system architecture (x86_64 or ARM64)
2. Run the installer by double-clicking the downloaded file
3. Follow the installation wizard prompts
4. The installer will automatically add Volta to your system PATH
5. Open a new command prompt or PowerShell window to start using Volta

For ZIP installation:

1. Download the appropriate ZIP file for your system architecture
2. Extract the ZIP file to a directory of your choice (e.g., C:\Program Files\Volta)
3. Add the extracted directory to your system PATH environment variable
4. Open a new command prompt or PowerShell window to start using Volta

macOS Manual Installation Steps

1. Download the macOS tarball
2. Open Terminal and navigate to the download location
3. Extract the tarball and run the install script:

   tar xzf volta-2.0.2-macos.tar.gz
   ./volta-2.0.2-macos/install.sh

4. The install script will:
   • Place Volta binaries in ~/.volta/bin
   • Update your shell profile to add Volta to your PATH
5. Restart your terminal or run source ~/.bashrc (or your appropriate shell config file)

Linux Manual Installation Steps

1. Download the appropriate Linux tarball for your system architecture (x86_64 or ARM)
2. Open a terminal and navigate to the download location
3. Extract the tarball and run the install script:

   tar xzf volta-2.0.2-linux.tar.gz
   ./volta-2.0.2-linux/install.sh

4. The install script will:
   • Place Volta binaries in ~/.volta/bin
   • Update your shell profile to add Volta to your PATH
5. Restart your terminal or run source ~/.bashrc (or your appropriate shell config file)

Select a default Node version

This is the version that Volta will use everywhere outside of projects that have a pinned version.

To select a specific version of Node, run:

volta install node@22.5.1

Or to use the latest LTS version, run:

volta install node

Managing Your Project with Volta

Using Volta in your project is straightforward. Simply run:

volta pin node@16

This adds a volta section to your package.json file, ensuring that all project members use the same version of Node.js.

You can also pin a package manager:

volta pin npm@8

This way, whenever npm is run in your project, Volta ensures the specified version is used.