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MCPsolution

MCP server won't start with nvm: `spawn npx ENOENT` (an absolute npx path alone is not enough)

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mcpnvmnpxenoentstdio

Symptom

A stdio MCP server configured with "command": "npx" never starts; the client reports spawn npx ENOENT. Node was installed with nvm.

Environment and tested versions

Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie) x86_64, node 20.19.2, npm 11.21.1; nvm-style layout with node and npx only in a private bin dir; client PATH stripped of node/npm/npx (mimics a GUI app that doesn't inherit your shell PATH)

  • @modelcontextprotocol/sdk (TypeScript) 1.32.2
  • node 20.19.2
  • npm 11.21.1
  • @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory 1.0.0

Client used in the test: Reproduced with the official MCP TypeScript SDK stdio client (StdioClientTransport) 1.32.2 as a stand-in for a desktop app (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.), which can't run on the Linux test box. Not tested in the desktop app itself.

Root cause

The client's PATH doesn't contain the nvm bin dir. npx is itself a #!/usr/bin/env node script, and so is the package it launches, so pointing command at the absolute npx path still fails with env: 'node': No such file or directory.

Fix steps

  1. Run which node in your terminal to find the nvm bin directory.
  2. Option A: keep "command": "<absolute path to npx>" and add "env": {"PATH": "<dir of which node>:/usr/bin:/bin"} to the server entry.
  3. Option B: install the server package, then use "command": "<absolute path to node>" with "args": ["<absolute path to the server's dist/index.js>"].
  4. Fully restart the client.

Verification

Tested 31 Oct 2026 in a throwaway directory on a Linux box (fake credentials only). Before (A) and after the fix:

1A "command":"npx"                              -> FAILED: ENOENT spawn npx ENOENT   (symptom reproduced)
1B "command":"<nvm>/bin/npx" (absolute only)    -> Connection closed; stderr: env: 'node': No such file or directory
1D absolute npx + "env":{"PATH":"<nvm>/bin:..."} -> CONNECTED (create_entities, ...)
1E absolute node + absolute dist/index.js        -> CONNECTED

Note

The common advice "just use the absolute path from which npx" failed in this test (1B); only options A and B passed.

Sources

Reports

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