Install multiple version of node.js using NVM (Ubuntu)

prior knowledge

How to use the terminal. You can for example use gnome-terminal.

Install dependencies

sudo apt-get install build-essential libssl-dev curl git-core

Install NVM

Below we will install NVM.

Download nvm

git clone https://github.com/creationix/nvm.git ~/.nvm

To activate nvm, you need to source it from your bash shell

echo -e "\n. ~/.nvm/nvm.sh" >> ~/.bashrc

Install version of node.js

In this example, I am going to install node v0.4.12. We first need open new bash session. You can also do this by typing bash again.

$ bash
$ nvm install v0.4.12 #This takes a while.

To make the latest v0.4 branch default you do

$ nvm alias default 0.4

Troubleshooting

When you don't have all dependencies installed you can not compile/install node.js. Then you will need to clean up ~/.nvm

$ rm -rf ~/.nvm/

Here is a detailed, up-to-date manual: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/articles/how-to-install-node-js-with-nvm-node-version-manager-on-a-vps#installation