How to Fix “the engine ‘node’ is incompatible with this module”

The error “the engine node is incompatible with this module” occurs when the Node engine or system you are using is incompatible with the module or software you are attempting to run.

To fix “the engine ‘node’ is incompatible with this module” error, add the –ignore-engines suffix while installing the package like this: yarn install –ignore-engines.

yarn install --ignore-engines

# OR

yarn global add <your app> --ignore-engines

To get a permanent solution, follow the below steps:

1. delete node_modules/, package-lock.json & yarn.lock
   
2. run yarn install or npm i again

Why the error occurs?

When the Node.js you have installed and the version of the module you are attempting to install are incompatible, you will receive the message “the engine node is incompatible with this module.” This error occurs due to the two systems’ different dependencies, setups, or supported functionality.

The error may appear if your installed version of Node.js does not comply with these requirements.

Node.js and npm modules frequently have strict version requirements.

Furthermore, certain modules might not work with newer or older versions of Node.js because they were created for a specific framework version.

If the requirements of the module you’re trying to install and the dependencies already installed on your system conflict, the error may also occasionally appear.

Alternate solutions

If the error is not fixed by adding the –ignore-engines prefix, you can try the solutions below.

Upgrade your Node.js version

You need to upgrade the Node.js version.

Using nvm to upgrade node.js

nvm current node -v # Checks your current version
nvm install <version>

Using homebrew to upgrade node.js

brew update # This updates Homebrew to latest version
brew upgrade node

After upgrading your Node.js to the latest version, you can install the compatible packages with the current node.js version. This will fix all the issues related to package incompatibility.

If the error persists, you can check out the solutions below one by one.

1. Uninstall the current version of the module and then reinstall it with Yarn. It fixes compatibility issues.
   
2. If the latest version of the module is still not compatible with your Node.js, try installing an older compatible version.
   
3. Some modules have a list of compatible versions of Node.js. Check this list to see if your version of Node.js is supported.
4. If you cannot fix the compatibility issue, contact the support team for the module or Yarn for further assistance.

After going through all these steps, your issues must be fixed and now you can install whatever package you like in your node.js environment.