npm ERR! code EACCES — how to fix

npm ERR! code EACCES
npm ERR! syscall mkdir
npm ERR! path /usr/local/lib/node_modules/some-package
npm ERR! errno -13
npm ERR! Error: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/usr/local/lib/node_modules/some-package'

Quick fix: Run mkdir -p ~/.npm-global && npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global, add export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH to your shell profile, then install again without sudo.

What it means

npm install -g writes to a system folder (/usr/local/lib/node_modules or /usr/lib/node_modules) owned by root. Your user can't write there.

Fix 1: use a global folder in your home directory (recommended)

mkdir -p ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc   # or ~/.zshrc
source ~/.bashrc
npm install -g some-package

Fix 2: use a Node version manager

nvm, fnm or Volta install Node in your home directory, so global installs never need root:

nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts
npm install -g some-package

Why not sudo?

sudo npm install -g works, but package install scripts then run as root, and files in ~/.npm can end up owned by root, which causes more EACCES errors later.

EACCES inside your project or ~/.npm

If the path in the error is your project or ~/.npm, an earlier sudo command left root-owned files. Take them back:

sudo chown -R "$(whoami)" ~/.npm
sudo chown -R "$(whoami)" ./node_modules

On Docker

In Node images, run as the node user and set NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX=/home/node/.npm-global, or install globals before switching users.

Last updated 2026-10-27.