Docs: add .nvmrc / .node-version behavior parity notes vs nvm (comments, lts/*, system, version resolution)
Author: chirag127Created Jul 1, 2026Updated Aug 17, 2026
Docs: Add .nvmrc / .node-version behavior parity notes vs nvm
Problem
Developers migrating from nvm to fnm expect identical .nvmrc behavior. There are subtle differences that are not documented anywhere in the fnm README or docs:
- Comments: nvm supports
# commentlines in.nvmrc. Does fnm? Undocumented. lts/*alias: nvm acceptslts/*,lts/hydrogen, etc. fnm's behavior with these aliases in.nvmrcis not documented — does it resolve? Fall through tonode@lts? Error?systemkeyword: nvm acceptssystemto mean "use the system-installed Node." fnm behavior withsystemin.nvmrcis undocumented.- Version resolution order: nvm checks
.nvmrcthen.node-version. fnm checks both but the precedence when both exist in the same directory is not documented. - Partial versions:
.nvmrccontaining22(major only) vs22.11(major.minor) vs22.11.0(full). nvm resolves partial versions to the latest matching. fnm behavior: partially documented in changelog entries but not in a user-facing doc.
Proposed fix
Add a .nvmrc and .node-version compatibility section to the README (or to a docs/nvmrc.md) that:
- Lists each nvm-specific syntax (
lts/*,system, comments, partial versions) and states whether fnm supports it - Notes the
.nvmrcvs.node-versionprecedence rule - Links to the relevant fnm source for each behavior so users can verify
This would reduce the flood of "fnm doesn't work with my .nvmrc" issues.
Environment
- OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
- fnm: latest via Scoop
- Context: migrating a polyrepo from nvm to fnm;
.nvmrcfiles uselts/*in several packages
Source: Schniz/fnm