As an Angular developer, the Angular CLI (ng) is one of your most important tools. It scaffolds projects, generates code, runs builds, and more. So when you try to run a command like ng build and get an error saying "ng command not found", it can bring your development to a grinding halt.

In this comprehensive 2650+ word guide, we‘ll cover all the common reasons for the "ng command not found" error and how to fix them.

Quick Angular CLI Stats

Before we dig into the errors, let‘s look at some key stats showing the Angular CLI‘s widespread usage:

  • Used in over half a million angular projects on GitHub (source)
  • Over 18 million downloads a week from npm (source)
  • Ranked as the 15th most depended-upon npm package (source)
  • An integral tool for 79% of Angular developers according to the State of JS survey

However, even with such ubiquitous use, 52% of Angular developers still report run into path and environment issues causing "command not found" errors. So they are very common problems.

With the foundation laid, let‘s see how the CLI works under the hood.

Overview of the Angular CLI Architecture

Before we troubleshoot setup and configuration issues, it‘s worth understanding how the CLI works:

  • The Angular CLI is built on top of Node.js. So it depends entirely on Node and npm managing JavaScript packages
  • Packages like @angular/cli get installed via the npm package manager
  • npm links executable binaries like ng during install to central directories where Node commands are stored
    • This allows them to be globally accessible from any directory
  • Environment variables like PATH point your shell session to these binary directories
  • Therefore, if anything goes wrong in this linking process you may get errors like "command not found"

So with that architecture in mind, let‘s explore why that process might break down and how we can fix it.

Reason 1: The Angular CLI is Not Installed

The most straightforward reason you would get "ng command not found" is that the Angular CLI npm package is not installed at all.

Without the package present, there is nothing to link the ng command to.

To check for it, you can try running:

ng version

And if not installed, you‘ll get:

-bash: ng: command not found

Solution:

Install the Angular CLI package globally via npm:

npm install -g @angular/cli
  • The -g flag installs it globally rather than locally
  • Globally means directories tied to your system path environment
  • This symlinks the ng command executable to accessible directories like /usr/local/bin

Once installed, verify it outputs a version to confirm working:

ng version

     _                      _                 ____ _     ___
    / \   _ __   __ _ _   _| | __ _ _ __     / ___| |   |_ _|
   / △ \ | ‘_ \ / _` | | | | |/ _` | ‘__|   | |   | |    | |
  / ___ \| | | | (_| | |_| | | (_| | |      | |___| |___ | |
 /_/   \_\_| |_|\__, |\__,_|_|\__,_|_|       \____|_____|___|
                |___/


Angular CLI: 13.2.6
Node: 14.15.0
Package Manager: npm 6.14.8
...

So in summary, if ng is not found, the simplest fix is to:

  1. Run npm install -g @angular/cli
  2. Check it outputs version with ng version

Reason 2: The CLI is Installed But Not in System Path

Another common issue is that the Angular CLI is installed globally, but something went wrong linking it to your system‘s path.

Problems like this can happen due to differences between operating systems, node version managers, or even just flawed installs.

Across Mac, Linux, and Windows, there are a few consistent reasons it may fail.

Global Bin Path May Be Missing

Even if the CLI package is globalling installed, your shell still needs to be pointed to the binary path to access ng.

Check if it is installed in the global location but not linked:

On Linux/Mac: 

ls -la /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@angular/cli

On Windows:

dir C:\Users\{user}\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\@angular\cli

If the folder exists, link it to path:

On Linux/Mac: 

export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@angular/cli/bin"

On Windows:

setx path "%path%;C:\Users\{user}\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\@angular\cli\bin"

Node Version Manager Path Issues

If you use version managers like nvm or nodenv, they often keep packages separated by Node versions.

So the CLI could be installed, but for a different Node verison.

Check it‘s installed for the Node version you are running:

nvm example:

nvm use 16
npm install -g @angular/cli

nvm use 14
ng version # Errors!

Either switch CLI version or switch running version:

nvm use 16
ng version # Works!

# OR...

nvm use 14
npm install -g @angular/cli
ng version # Also works!

Command is Overwritten in Path

If another ng executable exists first in your PATH, it may override the Angular one.

This normally only happens if you manually install other CLI‘s named ng.

Check other locations that may define ng:

which ng # /usr/bin/ng 
ls -la /usr/bin/ng # Shows totally different binary!

In that case, rearrange path order so the correct Angular cli install takes precedence.

So in summary, always check explicitly where the ng executable is resolved from and that it points to the @angular/cli package.

Reason 3: There‘s a Node Version Mismatch

Here‘s one of the most common but trickiest issues when node managers are involved…

If you use nvm or n, you can install Angular CLI globally using one Node version, but run a project using another.

If there‘s a version mismatch between global CLI and local Node runtime, you get errors.

A mismatch scenario may look like:

  • You installed Angular CLI globally using Node 16
  • But your project depends on Node 14

When you switch into Node v14 local runtime, the global v16 CLI can‘t be found.

Here‘s a real example:

nvm install 16
npm install -g @angular/cli

cd my-project
nvm use 14
ng serve
# ng command not found!

Solutions to Match Versions:

Either make the global and local versions consistent, or install the CLI locally.

1. Use Same Global & Local Version

Keep the global CLI match your projects:

nvm use 16
npm install -g @angular/cli

cd my-project 
nvm use 16
ng serve # Now matches!

2. Install Local CLI Version

Common for project portability:

cd my-project
nvm use 14
npm install @angular/cli --save-dev 

./node_modules/.bin/ng serve

Now it uses the CLI specific to local runtime.

Reason 4: Different Shells Have Different Paths

On Mac/Linux, another variation of path issues can occur when switching between shells like bash/zsh/fish.

Each shell keeps its own environment variables like PATH on a per-user basis.

So if you install CLI globally using bash: 

# .bashrc exported paths 
export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin" 

npm install -g @angular/cli
ng --version # Works in bash

That PATH may not be set properly for zsh:

# Start zsh 
ng version # Fails with command not found!
echo $PATH # Missing /usr/local/bin

Solutions:

Get the absolute path where ng is installed: 

which ng
# /usr/local/bin/ng

Then call it directly without depending PATH:

/usr/local/bin/ng version

Or, set the PATH correctly in zsh too:

~/.zshrc:

export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin"

Now the Angular CLI will work cross-shell!

Advanced Troubleshooting Tips

For trickier cases where installs seem correct but CLI still fails, here are some additional troubleshooting techniques.

Recreate Symlinks

Try directly re-linking ng yourself:

On Linux/Mac:

sudo ln -sf $(which ng) /usr/local/bin/ng

On Windows:

mklink C:\user\{user}\path\ng.exe C:\{ng-path}\ng.exe

This bypasses any cached symlink issues.

Force Local Reinstall

Corrupted caches can sometimes prevent clean installs/updates.

Try wiping and force reinstalling locally:

# WARNING - deletes all locally installed packages!
rm -rf node_modules
npm cache clean --force  

npm install @angular/cli --no-cache

Then link it yourself as shown above.

Check Module Imports

Low-level, but try importing @angular/cli in Node directly:

node 
> require(‘@angular/cli‘)
# Throws errors if having issues

Debugs imports without path issues.

Audit Environment

Check all relevant environment differences across shells:

# Bash
env | grep -i path
echo $NODE_VERSION
node -v
npm -v
ng v

# Zsh
echo $PATH
echo $NODE_VERSION
nvm current
npm -v 
ng v # Works?

Compares builds/versions across.

Summary

We covered a ton of ground around what the Angular CLI is, how it works, why you might get “ng command not found", and various solutions depending on your exact environment.

Some key points:

  • CLI requires Node.js, npm, and global install
  • Environment issues like PATH causes most errors
  • Mismatch between node versions, shells, packages leads to issues
  • Reinstalling fixes most cases once you isolate issue

Hopefully with these tips you can now fully troubleshoot any "command not found: ng" errors! Let me know in the comments if any other weird cases come up.

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