npm - EPERM: operation not permitted on Windows

Question

I ran

npm config set prefix /usr/local

After running that command, When trying to run any npm commands on Windows OS I keep getting the below.

Error: EPERM: operation not permitted, mkdir 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Git\local'
at Error (native)

Have deleted all files from

C:\Users\<your username>\.config\configstore\

It did not work.

Any suggestion ?

Answer 1

Running this command was my mistake.

npm config set prefix /usr/local

Path /usr/local is not for windows. This command changed the prefix variable at 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Git\local'

To access and make a change to this directory I need to run my cmd as administrator.

So I did:

1. Run cmd as administrator
2. Run npm config edit (You will get notepad editor)
3. Change prefix variable to C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\npm

Then npm start works in a normal console.

Answer 2

I solved the problem by changing windows user access for the older:

Here is a screenshot: http://prntscr.com/djdn0g

Answer 3

I recently had the same problem when I upgraded to the new version, the only solution was to do the downgraded

To uninstall:

npm uninstall npm -g

Install the previous version:

npm install npm@5.3 -g

Try update the version in another moment.

Answer 4

This is occurring because windows is not giving permission to the user to create a folder inside system drive. To solve this:

Right Click

The Folder > Properties > Security Tab

Click on Edit to change Permissions > Select the user and give Full Control to that user.

Answer 5

Sometimes, all that's required is to stop the dev server before installing/updating packages.

Answer 6

I had the same problem, after updating npm. Solved it by re-installing latest npm again with:

npm i -g npm

but this time with cmd running in administrating mode.

i did all this because i suspected there was an issue with the update, mostly some missing files.

Answer 7

I use Windows 10. I started the CMD as administrator, and it solved the problem.

Find CMD, right click, and click open as administrator.

Answer 8

In my case, I was facing this error because my directory and its file were opened in my editor (VS code) while I was running npm install. I solved the issue by closing my editor and running npm install through the command line.

Answer 9

for me it was an issue of altering existing folders in node_module, so i nuked the whole folder and run npm install again. it works with no errors after that

Answer 10

I had the same problem when I tried to install the npm package AVA. The solution for me was to delete the node_modules folder and force-clean the npm cache:

rm -rf node_modules
npm cache clean --force

I could then install the npm package without a problem.

Answer 11

I had the same issue, as I was using my company LAN. And I just ran cmd.exe npm and I was able to execute my other commands without any error after that.

C:\Users\586656>cmd.exe npm
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.14393]
(c) 2016 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Just sharing this, as it may help other folks who try to do this in their office LAN. Thank you.

Answer 12

Just run cmd as admin. delete old node_modules folder and run npm install again.

Answer 13

Happened to me since the folder/file was locked by another process. Used a tool (LockHunter) to terminate that process and it started working again (possible reason).

Answer 14

Find this command npm cache clean as a solution to those error in quick and simple way!

Answer 15

I updated my node version to 8.9.4 and ran the necessary install command again from administrator command prompt. It worked for me!

Answer 16

A reboot of my laptop and then

npm install

worked for me!

Answer 17

Try to install npm package by running CMD as Administrator. you can headover to broad discussion on this bug at npm install throwing error EPERM.

Answer 18

Running npm commands in Windows Powershell solved my issue.

Answer 19

Try npm i -g npm . NPM version 6.9 is work to me.

Answer 20

Same to me, My solution was close Android studio, AVD Manager, Visual Studio and reinstall. I executed this command to update my expo cli:

npm install -g expo-cli

Answer 21

Simplest way

Hope I am not too late for this post but recently even I too got hit by this issue. And also I had no admin rights on my laptop.

Here is the simplest way I fixed the bug.

1. Locate the file name .npmrc (it will be in C:\Users\<user name>\.npmrc)
2. Open it and change the path of prefix= to prefix=C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\npm

hope it will be helpful..