See the docs for the update command:

npm update [-g] [<pkg>...]

This command will update all the packages listed to the latest version (specified by the tag config), respecting semver.

Additionally, see the documentation on Node.js and NPM installation and Upgrading NPM.

The following original answer is from the old FAQ that no longer exists, but should work for Linux and Mac:

How do I update npm?

npm install -g npm

Please note that this command will remove your current version of npm. Make sure to use sudo npm install -g npm if on a Mac.

You can also update all outdated local packages by doing npm update without any arguments, or global packages by doing npm update -g.

Occasionally, the version of npm will progress such that the current version cannot be properly installed with the version that you have installed already. (Consider, if there is ever a bug in the update command.) In those cases, you can do this:

curl https://www.npmjs.com/install.sh | sh

To update Node.js itself, I recommend you use nvm, the Node Version Manager.

I found this really neat way of updating node on David Walsh’s blog, you can do it by installing n:

sudo npm cache clean -f
sudo npm install -g n
sudo n stable

It will install the current stable version of node.

EDIT: Please don’t use n anymore. I recommend using nvm. You can simply install stable by following the commands below:

nvm ls-remote
nvm install <version> 
nvm use <version>

Updating npm is easy:

npm install [email protected] -g

I understand this question is for Linux machine but just in case anybody is looking for a Windows solution, just go to the Node.js site, click the download button on the homepage and execute the installer program.

Thankfully it took care of everything and with a few clicks of ‘Next’ button I got the latest 0.8.15 Node.js version running on my Windows 7 machine.

As you may already know, npm is currently bundled with node.js. It means that if you have installed node.js, you’ve already installed npm as well.

Also, pay attention to the node.js and npm release versions table that shows us approximate versions compatibility. Sometimes, versions discrepancy may cause incompatibility errors.

So, if you’re a developer, it’s kinda “best practice” to manage your development environment using one of the node.js version managers.

Here is a list and usage notes of some of the most popular:

Homebrew (macOS)

If you’re on macOS, you can use Homebrew.

Actually, it’s not just a node.js version manager.

To install Homebrew to your Mac:

$ ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/Homebrew/homebrew/go/install)"

To install node.js and npm using Homebrew, run:

$ brew install node

Later, you will be able to update them using:

$ brew update && brew upgrade node

Also, you can switch between node.js versions as well:

$ brew switch node 0.10.26

npm will be upgraded/downgraded automatically.

n (macOS, Linux)

n is most likely to rvm (Ruby Version Manager), and is used to manage node.js and npm versions simultaneously. It is written on pure Linux shell, and available as an npm module. So, if you already have any node.js version installed, you can install/update the n package through npm:

$ npm install -g n

Downloading, installing and switching to node.js and npm versions is as easy as:

$ n 0.10.26
$ n 0.8.17
$ n 0.9.6

To download, install, and switch to the latest official release, use:

$ n latest

To download, install, and switch to the latest stable official release, use:

$ n stable

To switch to the previously active version (aka $ cd -), use:

$ n prev

If you want to see the list of installed node.js versions, just run n from your command line. The output will be something like the following:

$ n

  0.10.26
• 0.8.17
  0.9.6

Where the dot (•) means that it’s a currently active version. To select another node.js version from the list, use Up/Down arrow keys and activate using the Enter key.

To list the versions available to install:

$ n lsr

nvm (macOS, Linux)

nvm is also like rvm, even the command names and usage are very similar.

To install nvm you can use the installation script (requires git) using cURL:

$ curl https://raw.github.com/creationix/nvm/master/install.sh | sh

or wget:

$ wget -qO- https://raw.github.com/creationix/nvm/master/install.sh | sh

To download and install a specific node.js and npm version, use:

$ nvm install 0.10

Then, you can switch to the installed version, using:

$ nvm use 0.10

Also, you can create the .nvmrc file containing the version number, then switch to the specified version using the following command:

$ nvm use

To see the list of installed node.js versions, use:

$ nvm ls

To list the versions available to install:

$ nvm ls-remote

nvm-windows (Windows)

nvm-windows is a node.js version management utility for Windows, ironically written in Go.

It is not the same thing as nvm. However, the usage as a node.js version manager is very similar.

To install nvm-windows, it is required to uninstall any existing versions of node.js and npm beforehand. Then, download and run the latest installer from releases.

To upgrade nvm-windows, run the new installer. It will safely overwrite the files it needs to update without touching your node.js installations.

nvm-windows runs in an Admin shell. You’ll need to start Powershell or Command Prompt as Administrator to use nvm-windows.

Before using, you may also need to enable nvm-windows with the following command:

C:> nvm on

To download and install a specific node.js and npm version, use:

C:> nvm install 0.12

Then, you can switch to the installed version, using:

C:> nvm use 0.12

If you want to see the list of installed node.js versions, use:

C:> nvm list

To list the versions available to install:

C:> nvm list available

First check your NPM version

npm -v

1) Update NPM to current version:

View curent NPM version:

npm view npm version

Update npm to current version:

npm i -g npm

2) List all available NPM versions and make a custom install/update/roll-back

View all versions including “alpha”, “beta” and “rc” (release candidate)

npm view npm versions --json

Reinstall NPM to a specific version chosen from the versions list – for example to 5.0.3

npm i -g [email protected]

• Installing one version will automatically remove the one currently installed.

• For Linux and iOS prepend commands with sudo

Upgrading for Windows Users

Windows users should read Troubleshooting > Upgrading on Windows in the npm wiki.

Upgrading on windows 10 using PowerShell (3rd party edit)

The link above Troubleshooting#upgrading-on-windows points to a github page npm-windows-upgrade the lines below are quotes from the readme.
I successfully upgraded from npm 2.7.4 to npm 3.9.3 using node v5.7.0 and powershell (presumably powershell version 5.0.10586.122)

First, ensure that you can execute scripts on your system by running
the following command from an elevated PowerShell. To run PowerShell
as Administrator, click Start, search for PowerShell, right-click
PowerShell and select Run as Administrator.

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser -Force    

Then, to install and use this upgrader tool, run (also from an
elevated PowerShell or cmd.exe):

npm install --global --production npm-windows-upgrade
npm-windows-upgrade

First update npm,

npm install -g [email protected]

Then update node to the next version,

npm install -g [email protected] or npm install -g [email protected]
or, to the latest,

npm install -g [email protected] or npm install -g node

check after version installation,

node --versionor node -v

SIMPLY USE THIS

npm i -g npm

This is what i get promped on my console from npm when new update/bug-fix are released:

• To update node use nvm (or nvmw for windows).

• To update npm, the npm update npm -g command didn’t work for me (on windows). What did work was reinstalling npm according to the documentation: “You can download a zip file from https://npmjs.org/dist/, and unpack it in the same folder where node.exe lives.” Make sure if you do this that you get rid of your previous installation first (though overwriting it will probably work ok…).

• To update your modules, use the npm update command

Try the latest stable version of npm

See what version of npm you’re running:

npm -v

Upgrading on *nix (OSX, Linux, etc.)

(You may need to prefix these commands with sudo, especially on Linux, or OS X if you installed Node using its default installer.)

You can upgrade to the latest version of npm using:

npm install -g [email protected]

Or upgrade to the most recent release:

npm install -g [email protected]

Upgrading on Windows

By default, npm is installed alongside node in

C:Program Files (x86)nodejs

npm’s globally installed packages (including, potentially, npm itself) are stored separately in a user-specific directory (which is currently

C:Users<username>AppDataRoamingnpm).

Because the installer puts

C:Program Files (x86)nodejs

before

C:Users<username>AppDataRoamingnpm

on your PATH, it will always use the version of npm installed with node instead of the version of npm you installed using npm -g install [email protected]<version>.

To get around this, you can do one of the following:

• Option 1: edit your Windows installation’s PATH to put %appdata%npm before %ProgramFiles%nodejs.
  Remember that you’ll need to restart cmd.exe (and potentially restart Windows) when you make changes to PATH or how npm is installed.

• Option 2: remove both of

  • %ProgramFiles%nodejsnpm
  • %ProgramFiles%nodejsnpm.cmd

• Option 3: Navigate to %ProgramFiles%nodejsnode_modulesnpm and copy the npmrcfile to another folder or the desktop.
  Then open cmd.exe and run the following commands:

cd %ProgramFiles%nodejsnpm install [email protected]

If you installed npm with the node.js installer, after doing one of the previous steps, do the following.

• Option 1 or 2

  • Go into %ProgramFiles%nodejsnode_modulesnpm and copy the file named npmrc in the new npm folder, which should be %appdata%npmnode_modulesnpm. This will tell the new npm where the global installed packages are.

• Option 3

  • Copy the npmrc file back into %ProgramFiles%nodejsnode_modulesnpm

A brief note on the built-in Windows configuration

The Node installer installs, directly into the npm folder, a special piece of Windows-specific configuration that tells npm where to install global packages. When npm is used to install itself, it is supposed to copy this special builtin configuration into the new install. There was a bug in some versions of npm that kept this from working, so you may need to go in and fix that up by hand. Run the following command to see where npm will install global packages to verify it is correct.

npm config get prefix -g

If it isn’t set to <X>:Users<user>AppDataRoamingnpm, you can run the below command to correct it:

npm config set prefix "${APPDATA}/npm" -g

Incidentally, if you would prefer that packages not be installed to your roaming profile (because you have a quota on your shared network, or it makes logging in or out from a domain sluggish), you can put it in your local app data instead:

npm config set prefix "${LOCALAPPDATA}/npm" -g

…as well as copying %APPDATA%npm to %LOCALAPPDATA%npm (and updating your %PATH%, of course).

Everyone who works on npm knows that this process is complicated and fraught, and we’re working on making it simpler. Stay tuned.

Source: https://docs.npmjs.com/troubleshooting/try-the-latest-stable-version-of-npm

I think the best way to manage node.js is to use NVM.
NVM stands for Node Version Manager.

It’s a must-have tool for node.js developers!

You can install NVM using the following command, open terminal and run any one of the following:-

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash

or

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh//nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash

After installing this it’s recommended to close the current terminal and open a new one since NVM will be adding some environment variables so terminal needs to be restarted.

I’ll list down some of the basic commands for using NVM.

• This will fetch all the node versions from the internet. All node versions from beginning till date will be shown, It will also mention LTS versions alongside.

nvm ls-remote 

• This will show you the recommended versions of npm and node you should use. (This works only if you already have a version of npm installed, if not use the above command)

npm doctor

• This will install the node version which you want (version list is obtained using the above command)

nvm install <version recommended by 'npm doctor' or 'nvm ls-remote'>

for example nvm install v14.18.1

• This command will give us the list of node versions that are installed locally

nvm ls

• This command is used to remove the node version that you want from your computer

nvm uninstall v10.15.1

• The following command will help you upgrade to the latest working npm on the current node version

nvm install-latest-npm

• NVM can be used to manage multiple node versions simultaneously
• It can also help you install all the global npm packages from one version to another instead of manually installing each one of them!
• There are many other uses of nvm the details of which and the commands can be found here Node Version Manager

$ npm install -g npm stable

Worked for me to update from 1.4.28 to 2.1.5

Install npm => sudo apt-get install npm

Install n => sudo npm install n -g

latest version of node => sudo n latest

Specific version of node you can

List available node versions => n ls

Install a specific version => sudo n 4.5.0

To install the latest version of npm using npm:

sudo npm install [email protected]

I run this on Linux so I am not sure about other operating systems.

On Linux you can also run:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

This will tell the apt-get package manager to update and upgrade all packages.

I just installed Node.js on a new Windows 7 machine, with the following results:

> node -v
v0.12.0
> npm -v
2.5.1

I then did the above described procedure:

> npm install -g npm

and it upgraded to v2.7.3. Except than doing npm -v still gave 2.5.1.

I went to the System configuration panel, advanced settings, environment variables. I saw a PATH variable specific to my user account, in addition to the global Path variable.
The former pointed to new npm: C:UsersPhiLhoAppDataRoamingnpm
The latter includes the path to node: C:PrgCmdLinenodejs (Nowadays, I avoid to install stuff in Program Files and derivates. Avoiding spaces in paths, and noisy useless protections is saner…)
If I do which npm.cmd (I have Unix utilities installed…), it points to the one in Node.

Anyway, the fix is simple: I just copied the first path (to npm) just before the path to node in the main, global Path variable, and now it picks up the latest version.
<some stuff before>;C:UsersPhiLhoAppDataRoamingnpm;C:PrgCmdLinenodejs

> npm -v
2.7.3

Enjoy. 🙂

For Linux, OSX, etc..

To install the latest version of NPM

npm install -g [email protected]

Or To Install the most recent release

npm install -g [email protected]

Additional : To check your npm version

npm -v

If you are in a Windows Machine, I suggest going to the npm website

I recently stumbled across this article: http://martineau.tv/blog/2013/12/more-efficient-grunt-workflows/ and the author mentions $ npm-check-updates -u && npm install to update all dependencies.

This is a little off the topic but I ended up here on a similar search so thought it was worth the share.

Just run the following command in terminal as root/administrator:

npm i -g n
n stable
npm update -g npm

It has worked for me on Linux

Sometimes it’s just simpler to download the latest version from http://nodejs.org/

Especially when all other options fail.

http://nodejs.org/ -> click INSTALL -> you’ll have the latest node and npm

Simple!

To update npm :

npm install [email protected]{version} -g

to update npm to the latest version:

npm install [email protected] -g

and to check the version :

npm -v

to update node js :

sudo npm cache clean -f
sudo npm install -g n
sudo n stable

to check :

node -v

Just listened to an interview with the npm team on the latest episode of nodeup, and they recommended not using update for the update from 1.x to 2.x. Instead, use:
npm install npm -g


Just with this code

npm install update

When it comes to Linux I suggest an Update Node Using a Package Manager:

Node comes with npm pre-installed, but the manager is updated more frequently than Node. Run npm -v to see which version you have, then npm install [email protected] -g to install the newest npm update. Run npm -v again if you want to make sure npm updated correctly.

To update NodeJS, you’ll need npm’s handy n module. Run this code to clear npm’s cache, install n, and install the latest stable version of Node:

sudo npm cache clean -f
sudo npm install -g n
sudo n stable

To install the latest release, use n latest. Alternatively, you can run n #.#.# to get a specific Node version.

When it comes to Windows/ macOS I suggest using Installers on Nodejs.org

The Node.js downloads page includes binary packages for Windows and macOS — but why make your life more difficult? The pre-made installers — .msi for Windows and .pkg for macOS — make the installation process unbelievably efficient and understandable. Download and run the file, and let the installation wizard take care of the rest. With each downloaded update, the newer versions of Node and npm will replace the older version.

Alternatively, macOS users can use the npm and n instructions above.

When it comes to updating your node_modules dependencies folder, I suggest skipping all the things that could cause you a headache and just go to your specific project and re-run npm install again.

Before anyone does that, I suggest first checking your package.json file for the following:

As a user of NodeJS packages, you can specify which kinds of updates your app can accept in the package.json file. For example, if you were starting with a package version 1.0.4, this is how you could specify the allowed update version ranges in three basic ways:

To Allow Patch Releases: 1.0 or 1.0.x or ~1.0.4
To Allow Minor Releases: 1 or 1.x or ^1.0.4
To Allow Major Releases: * or x

Explanation:

MAJOR version for when there are incompatible API changes. –> ~

MINOR version for when functionality is added in a backwards compatible manner. –> ^

PATCH version for when backward compatible bug fixes are done. –> *

for nodejs should uninstall it and download your favorite version from nodejs.org
for npm run below line in cmd:

npm i npm

Warning: if you need update Node from an old version (in my case v4.6.0) it is better to re-install nodejs from scratch (download link: https://nodejs.org) otherwise npm will also update itself to a version that’s not compatible with the new Node (see this discussion).

This is the error message that I got after updating Node (on Windows) with npm

$ npm install -g npm stable
[ . . .]
$ npm 
C:UsersmeAppDataRoamingnpmnode_modulesnpmbinnpm-cli.js:85
      let notifier = require('update-notifier')({pkg})
      ^^^

SyntaxError: Block-scoped declarations (let, const, function, class) not yet supporte
d outside strict mode
    at exports.runInThisContext (vm.js:53:16)
    at Module._compile (module.js:373:25)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:416:10)
    at Module.load (module.js:343:32)
    at Function.Module._load (module.js:300:12)
    at Function.Module.runMain (module.js:441:10)
    at startup (node.js:139:18)
    at node.js:974:3

After new installation npm works again:

$ npm -v
6.5.0
$ node -v
v10.15.0

npm install -g [email protected]

The above code can be run in the terminal to update your node package manager if you have already installed npm. If you don’t have npm you can use

sudo apt-get install npm

then you can update it by the above method

Also if you want to update to a particular version, follow this:

sudo npm cache clean -f
sudo npm install -g n
sudo n <specific version>

Use NVM to manage node version, it will automatically take care of npm.

For Cygwin users:

Installing n (node version manager) in Cygwin doesn’t work, instead update node with:

wget https://nodejs.org/download/release/latest/win-x64/node.exe -OutFile 'C:pathtonodejsnode.exe'
# Updating npm
npm i -g npm

Yes, you need to install wget first.