Hi everyone,
I’m trying to install N8N on my Windows 10 machine (v10.0.19045.5737) using NVM for Windows (v1.2.2) and npm, but I’m consistently running into installation failures related to native module compilation.
Environment:
OS: Windows 10 Pro (v10.0.19045.5737)
NVM: NVM for Windows v1.2.2
Node.js: Tried installing N8N with Node.js v18.x and v20.x (managed via NVM)
Installation Command: npm install -g n8n
Build Tools: Visual Studio 2022 installed
Problem:
When running npm install -g n8n, the process fails, usually when trying to build dependencies that require node-gyp. The primary errors indicate issues finding the necessary C++ build tools:
gyp ERR! find VS
gyp ERR! find VS You need to install the latest version of Visual Studio
gyp ERR! find VS including the “Desktop development with C++” workload.
gyp ERR! find VS For more information consult the documentation at:
gyp ERR! find VS GitHub - nodejs/node-gyp: Node.js native addon build tool
… (other stack trace lines related to build failure) …
npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE
npm ERR! errno 1
npm ERR! @x.y.z install: node-gyp rebuild
npm ERR! Exit status 1
npm ERR!
npm ERR! Failed at the @x.y.z install script.
npm ERR! This is probably not a problem with npm. There is likely additional logging output above.
Troubleshooting Steps Taken:
Ensured NVM environment variables point to the correct new path.
Confirmed nvm list works in CMD.
Installed Visual Studio 2022 via the Visual Studio Installer.
Specifically used the VS Installer to Modify the installation and ensured the “Desktop development with C++” workload was checked and installed.
Rebooted the computer after installing/modifying the build tools.
Tried running the npm install -g n8n command in both CMD and PowerShell as Administrator.
Cleaned npm cache (npm cache clean --force).
Switched between Node.js v18 and v20 using NVM.
Temporarily disabled antivirus.
Questions:
Despite installing VS 2022 and the required C++ workload (and rebooting), node-gyp still seems unable to find the build tools during the N8N installation.
Are there any specific configuration steps for node-gyp or the VS Build Tools on Windows that I might be missing?
Are there known best practices or specific Node.js versions/NVM configurations recommended for installing N8N smoothly on Windows?
Does node-gyp have dependencies on specific Python versions or other system configurations I should check?
What specific logs would be most helpful for diagnosing this further (e.g., the full npm debug log)?
Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated! I can provide more logs if needed.
Thanks!