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I am trying to install the angular cli with 'npm install -g @angular/cli' and I am met with the following error:

npm ERR! Unexpected token '.'
npm ERR! A complete log of this run can be found in:
npm ERR!     C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\npm-cache\_logs\2022-02-02T15_25_07_320Z-debug-0.log
Version of npm: 8.3.1
Version of node: v17.4.0
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you :)
                You'll also encounter this problem if you are using nvm-windows prior to v1.1.8 due to how it retrieved Node.js distributions.
– jacobq
                May 31, 2022 at 17:34
                @STEEL it is the same as me. I downgrade my node from 16.14.2 to 16.13.2, then npm install --global xxx works. Thx
– Orionpax
                Jun 28, 2022 at 0:20
                Yeah! It worked for me too .. I was on Node 16.15.1 . And I done a downgrade to 16.13.2 and it fixed my problem.
– TheScripterX
                Aug 2, 2022 at 15:07
                Based on the github issue link, the fix is to upgrade nvm for windows to 1.1.10, and then remove (all?) node version and reinstall them via nvm. Worked for me.
– WTJ
                Dec 1, 2022 at 9:06
                Here at Windows 11, this was the simplest and correct answer at the same time. All good after manually installing NVM 1.1.9, then nvm install 16.18.0 and nvm use 16.18.0. After that, using NPM global installs turned to be successful again, like npm install -g yarn.
– Erick Petrucelli
                Oct 25, 2022 at 17:18
                Note that if you are using nvm for windows < 1.1.9 you might see this even with new node/npm.
– jacobq
                Apr 25, 2022 at 20:05
                v16.13.2 worked to me. From v16.14.0 to latest (v16.15.0 for now) all use the buggy version npm version 8.3.1.
– Val
                Apr 28, 2022 at 6:15
                @philipp-meissner yes but how do you change to an earlier vesion when npm i -g npm@some-version throws an error?
– joniba
                Jun 20, 2022 at 11:39
                @joniba uninstall node and install it again. Even better: Use a version manager like nvm (npm.github.io/installation-setup-docs/installing/…)
– Philipp Meissner
                Jun 27, 2022 at 6:40
                I encountered the same problem too, Win10, NVM@1.1.4, node@[16.15.1, 16.15.0,14.10.0], npm@~8.3.1. Upgrading NVM to >=1.1.9` (as @jacobq mentioned) and reinstalling all node versions resolved the issue.
– soumasandesu
                Jul 4, 2022 at 4:51
I had this problem with Windows 10 and Node 18 and NPM 8. I also used NVM for Windows. This is what I did to get around the problem:
install latest version of NVM for Windows on top of existing
call nvm uninstall 18.X.X, where 18.X.X is the version you are using
call nvm install 18.X.X, where 18.X.X is the version you are using
The following worked for me.
Upgrade NVM for windows to version 1.1.10 by downloading the 'nvm-update.zip' folder from their repository (https://github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows/releases) and install it.
After that remove the broken node version (in my case 18.10.0) and re-install it again using the updated NVM.
Everything working again 👍
The main problem is that, if you try to follow the steps to install angular, you will inevitably run into this error, because the recommended version of node.js is 16.14.0, and node already tells you that it comes with 8.3.1 node version:
captura de pantalla de node.js con la versión recomendada de node
To solve this problem, you can install node versión 16.13.2, that comes with npm 8.1.2 version (instead of 8.1.3), as it is said here: https://nodejs.org/en/download/releases/
Note: I use nvm
Then you could install angular.
Another possibility, if you want to use angular with node 16.14.0, could be to upgrade the npm version. The problem is that, when you try to do so, it will arise the same error that appeared when you tried to install angular.
To solve this, I recommend this:
a) Install a previous version of node that uses another version of npm, as node 16.13.2, that comes with npm 8.1.2. Personally I have several versions of node through nvm (node version manager) for windows.
b) Copy the npm package of this node installation of node 16.13.2, and change it into the folder of the node 16.14.0 (delete or rename old npm folder before).
c) Use node 16.14.0 typing nvm use 16.4.0
d) Upgrade npm typing npm install -g npm@latest.
Here you could see the sequence:
First, rename npm 8.1.3 and paste npm 8.1.2:
Muestra cómo quedan las carpetas con el npm
Then, you can see here the commands in the MS-DOS console:
C:\Users\AB>npm -v
    8.1.2
C:\Users\AB>npm version
      npm: '8.1.2',
      node: '16.14.0',
      v8: '9.4.146.24-node.20',
      uv: '1.43.0',
      zlib: '1.2.11',
      brotli: '1.0.9',
      ares: '1.18.1',
      modules: '93',
      nghttp2: '1.45.1',
      napi: '8',
      llhttp: '6.0.4',
      openssl: '1.1.1m+quic',
      cldr: '40.0',
      icu: '70.1',
      tz: '2021a3',
      unicode: '14.0',
      ngtcp2: '0.1.0-DEV',
      nghttp3: '0.1.0-DEV'
C:\Users\AB>npm install -g npm@latest
    removed 186 packages, changed 19 packages, and audited 36 packages in 25s
found 0 vulnerabilities
C:\Users\AB>npm version
      npm: '8.5.2',
      node: '16.14.0',
      v8: '9.4.146.24-node.20',
      uv: '1.43.0',
      zlib: '1.2.11',
      brotli: '1.0.9',
      ares: '1.18.1',
      modules: '93',
      nghttp2: '1.45.1',
      napi: '8',
      llhttp: '6.0.4',
      openssl: '1.1.1m+quic',
      cldr: '40.0',
      icu: '70.1',
      tz: '2021a3',
      unicode: '14.0',
      ngtcp2: '0.1.0-DEV',
      nghttp3: '0.1.0-DEV'
C:\Users\AB>npm install -g @angular/cli
added 189 packages, and audited 191 packages in 1m
             found 0 vulnerabilities
C:\Users\AB>ng version
         _                      _                 ____ _     ___
        / \   _ __   __ _ _   _| | __ _ _ __     / ___| |   |_ _|
       / △ \ | '_ \ / _` | | | | |/ _` | '__|   | |   | |    | |
      / ___ \| | | | (_| | |_| | | (_| | |      | |___| |___ | |
    /_/   \_\_| |_|\__, |\__,_|_|\__,_|_|       \____|_____|___|
                    |___/
    Package                      Version
    ------------------------------------------------------
    @angular-devkit/architect    0.1302.5 (cli-only)
    @angular-devkit/core         13.2.5 (cli-only)
    @angular-devkit/schematics   13.2.5 (cli-only)
    @schematics/angular          13.2.5 (cli-only)
Some other answers here are probably right. I didn't bother to investigate and tried yarn.
In my case I got the "Unexpected token '.'" error when installing npm-check-updates and fixed that by installing it using yarn.
yarn global add npm-check-updates
I had the same issue, I was using choco to manage it better on windows. The solution was to uninstall nvm using choco and reinstall it again, then just download and use the latest version of npm/node.
choco uninstall nvm
choco install nvm
nvm install latest
nvm use [latest]
Replace [latest] with the last version installed.
After this, you should be able to use npm commands with no error.
        
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