--reinstall-packages-from= option unrecognized when doing nvm install --lts

[joeptacek]

• Operating system and version:

MacOS 10.13.3

• nvm debug output:

Details

nvm --version: v0.33.8
$TERM_PROGRAM: iTerm.app
$SHELL: /usr/local/bin/bash
$HOME: /Users/joeptacek
$NVM_DIR: '$HOME/.nvm'
$PREFIX: ''
$NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX: ''
$NVM_NODEJS_ORG_MIRROR: ''
$NVM_IOJS_ORG_MIRROR: ''
shell version: 'GNU bash, version 4.4.19(1)-release (x86_64-apple-darwin17.3.0)'
uname -a: 'Darwin 17.4.0 Darwin Kernel Version 17.4.0: Sun Dec 17 09:19:54 PST 2017; root:xnu-4570.41.2~1/RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64'
OS version: Mac 10.13.3 17D102
curl: /usr/bin/curl, curl 7.54.0 (x86_64-apple-darwin17.0) libcurl/7.54.0 LibreSSL/2.0.20 zlib/1.2.11 nghttp2/1.24.0
wget: not found
git: /usr/local/bin/git, git version 2.16.2
grep: /usr/bin/grep, grep (BSD grep) 2.5.1-FreeBSD
awk: /usr/bin/awk, awk version 20070501
sed: illegal option -- -
usage: sed script [-Ealn] [-i extension] [file ...]
       sed [-Ealn] [-i extension] [-e script] ... [-f script_file] ... [file ...]
sed: /usr/bin/sed,
cut: illegal option -- -
usage: cut -b list [-n] [file ...]
       cut -c list [file ...]
       cut -f list [-s] [-d delim] [file ...]
cut: /usr/bin/cut,
basename: illegal option -- -
usage: basename string [suffix]
       basename [-a] [-s suffix] string [...]
basename: /usr/bin/basename,
rm: illegal option -- -
usage: rm [-f | -i] [-dPRrvW] file ...
       unlink file
rm: /bin/rm,
mkdir: illegal option -- -
usage: mkdir [-pv] [-m mode] directory ...
mkdir: /bin/mkdir,
xargs: illegal option -- -
usage: xargs [-0opt] [-E eofstr] [-I replstr [-R replacements]] [-J replstr]
             [-L number] [-n number [-x]] [-P maxprocs] [-s size]
             [utility [argument ...]]
xargs: /usr/bin/xargs,
nvm current: v8.10.0
which node: $NVM_DIR/versions/node/v8.10.0/bin/node
which iojs:
which npm: $NVM_DIR/versions/node/v8.10.0/bin/npm
npm config get prefix: $NVM_DIR/versions/node/v8.10.0
npm root -g: $NVM_DIR/versions/node/v8.10.0/lib/node_modules

• nvm ls output:

Details

         v8.9.3
->      v8.10.0
default -> node (-> v8.10.0)
node -> stable (-> v8.10.0) (default)
stable -> 8.10 (-> v8.10.0) (default)
iojs -> N/A (default)
lts/* -> lts/carbon (-> v8.10.0)
lts/argon -> v4.8.7 (-> N/A)
lts/boron -> v6.13.1 (-> N/A)
lts/carbon -> v8.10.0

• How did you install nvm? (e.g. install script in readme, Homebrew):

Install via git

• What steps did you perform?

Tried to install latest LTS, reinstalling global packages from previous latest LTS (not sure if nvm would resolve previous latest correctly)

nvm install --lts --reinstall-packages-from='lts/*'

Also tried more explicitly

nvm install --lts --reinstall-packages-from=8.9.3

• What happened?

In each case, was informed either

grep: unrecognized option `--reinstall-packages-from=lts/*'
usage: grep [-abcDEFGHhIiJLlmnOoqRSsUVvwxZ] [-A num] [-B num] [-C[num]]
	[-e pattern] [-f file] [--binary-files=value] [--color=when]
	[--context[=num]] [--directories=action] [--label] [--line-buffered]
	[--null] [pattern] [file ...]
Version '--reinstall-packages-from=lts/*' (with LTS filter) not found - try `nvm ls-remote --lts` to browse available versions.

or

grep: unrecognized option `--reinstall-packages-from=8.9.3'
usage: grep [-abcDEFGHhIiJLlmnOoqRSsUVvwxZ] [-A num] [-B num] [-C[num]]
	[-e pattern] [-f file] [--binary-files=value] [--color=when]
	[--context[=num]] [--directories=action] [--label] [--line-buffered]
	[--null] [pattern] [file ...]
Version '--reinstall-packages-from=8.9.3' (with LTS filter) not found - try `nvm ls-remote --lts` to browse available versions.

At any rate this works fine

nvm install --lts
nvm reinstall-packages 8.9.3

• What did you expect to happen?

I was hoping to install the latest LTS and reinstall global packages from my old LTS. I think I've done something similar in the past without issue. Am I misusing the --reinstall-packages-from= option?

• Is there anything in any of your profile files (.bashrc, .bash_profile, .zshrc, etc) that modifies the PATH?

# in .bashrc, sourced from .bash_profile
export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"

[ljharb]

Both options you tried should indeed work. Just to confirm: just last night I pushed a change to master that alters this option a bit; you said "install via git" - does that means you're using the latest master?

If you try one commit back (or, the latest release tag), does it work?

[joeptacek]

I'm at the last release tag (v0.33.8), not the latest master. I just tried removing $NVM_DIR and cloning fresh from v0.33.8, still the same issue when I install 8.9.3 / global packages, then try to install a more recent LTS using the --reinstall-packages-from=8.9.3 option. Maybe something else in my environment is weird? I'll try on another device.

[joeptacek]

Same issue on another Mac, with essentially the same nvm debug output (only diffs on "uname -a" and "OS version" lines for other Mac running 10.13.2). Same commit (v0.33.8). There's another, slightly fresher Mac I can test on a bit later.

[ljharb]

@joeptacek thanks for the followup. It's possible that there's a bug in reinstall-packages-from with LTS aliases.

One thing to note, however: the instant you do nvm ls-remote (which nvm install does, implicitly) - you'll get an updated list of LTS versions, and 8.9.3 isn't the latest LTS anymore once 8.9.4 came out. So, I think the logic here might only work if your lts/* alias points at 8.9.3 prior to the nvm install command?

Separately, nvm install --lts --reinstall-packages-from=blah might be incorrectly applying --lts to "blah", which is easier to fix.

[joeptacek]

Makes sense, re: lts/* not targeting the previous LTS; would be nifty if it resolved that way but was not necessarily expecting that behavior

FWIW just tested this, and works fine (using 8.9.4 instead of --lts to specify install version):

nvm install 8.9.4 --reinstall-packages-from=8.9.3

As you say, it seems that the --lts filter is what's making things buggy here

[gonzofish]

FWIW, in the meantime, you can just do a two-command operation to get around the bug:

> nvm install --lts
> nvm install [version that install] --reinstall-packages-from=[previous version]

Maybe that's obvious to everyone but me...

[ffxsam]

Still an issue. Will this ever be resolved? (I realize it's a minor thing and the workaround above is fine)

[ecklf]

I use an initial nvm alias dubnium $(nvm current) to store my latest installed node10 version and added a .bashrc alias for upgrading to LTS / purging the previous node version.

May not be the prettiest thing in the world, but it does the job 👍.

nvm use dubnium && oldNode=$(nvm current) && nvm install --lts=dubnium && nvm install $(nvm current) --reinstall-packages-from=${oldNode} && nvm alias dubnium $(nvm current) && nvm uninstall ${oldNode}

[ljharb]

@impulse I'd expect nvm install lts/dubnium --reinstall-packages-from=lts/dubnium to work in the meantime.

[ecklf]

@ljharb I don't understand the --reinstall-packages-from=lts/dubnium part. Wouldn't that point to the latest available dubnium release but not to the latest locally installed one?