CLI Commands

Volta provides a rich set of command-line commands to help you manage your JavaScript toolchain.

Core Commands

volta install

Installs a tool in your toolchain.

# Install latest Node.js LTS
volta install node

# Install specific version of Node.js
volta install node@16.14.2

# Install latest npm
volta install npm

# Install specific version of yarn
volta install yarn@1.22.19

# Install a package globally
volta install typescript
volta install @vue/cli

Options:

• --verbose: Enables verbose diagnostics
• --quiet: Prevents unnecessary output

volta uninstall

Uninstalls a tool from your toolchain.

# Uninstall Node.js
volta uninstall node

# Uninstall npm
volta uninstall npm

# Uninstall a package
volta uninstall typescript

volta pin

Pins a tool to your project's package.json.

# Pin Node.js
volta pin node@16.14.2

# Pin npm
volta pin npm@8.5.0

volta list

Lists the tools available in your toolchain.

# List all tools
volta list all

# List installed Node.js versions
volta list node

# List installed package managers
volta list npm
volta list yarn

# List installed packages
volta list packages

volta which

Shows the path to the specified tool that Volta would use.

volta which node
volta which npm
volta which typescript

volta run

Runs a command with custom tool versions.

# Run with specific Node.js version
volta run --node 14 node index.js

# Run with specific npm version
volta run --npm 6 npm install

# Run with both custom Node.js and npm
volta run --node 14 --npm 6 npm install

Additional Commands

volta completions

Generates shell completion scripts.

# Generate bash completions
volta completions bash > volta.bash

# Generate zsh completions
volta completions zsh > _volta

# Generate fish completions
volta completions fish > volta.fish

volta setup

Configures Volta in your environment.

# Set up Volta with default settings
volta setup

# Set up volta without modifying profiles
VOLTA_SKIP_SETUP=1 volta setup

volta help

Shows help for Volta commands.

# General help
volta help

# Help for specific command
volta help install
volta help pin

Exit Codes

Volta commands return the following exit codes:

• 0: Success
• 1: Generic error
• 2: Command-line argument error
• Higher numbers: Command-specific errors

Environment Variables

These environment variables affect Volta's behavior when running commands:

• VOLTA_HOME: Directory where Volta will store its data
• VOLTA_LOGLEVEL: Verbosity of logs (error, warn, info, verbose, debug)
• VOLTA_SKIP_SETUP: Skip modifying shell profile during setup
• VOLTA_FEATURE_PNPM: Enable pnpm support