EACCES in Node.js — What It Means and How to Fix It

EACCES means the process lacks permission to access a file, directory or port.

What it means and why it happens

Typical causes: writing to protected folders, running npm with global installs as a normal user, or binding to ports below 1024.

Read the full message: it names the file and line where the problem was detected, which is the best place to start.

What you see

Practical examples

Code that triggers it

fs.writeFileSync('/var/log/app.log', 'x')

The fix

fs.writeFileSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'app.log'), 'x')

Fix npm global permissions

mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global
export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH

Common mistakes

• Fixing with sudo npm install -g.
• Binding to port 80 as a normal user.
• Wrong ownership of project folders.

Key takeaways

• EACCES: EACCES means the process lacks permission to access a file, directory or port.
• Read the message and the line number first.
• Fix the cause, don't just silence the error.

FAQ

Port 80 without root?

Use a reverse proxy or setcap cap_net_bind_service.

How do I find which line caused EACCES?

The error message and stack trace show the file and line; start there and work backwards.