fix(installer): load nvm before node detection

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 ### Fixes
 
 - Installer/macOS: rerun Homebrew install steps without the gum spinner when raw-mode ioctl failures occur, and avoid claiming `node@24` was installed when the Homebrew keg binary is missing. Fixes #70411. Thanks @1fanwang and @dad-io.
+- Installer: load nvm before Node.js detection so `curl | bash` installs respect nvm-managed Node instead of stale system Node. Fixes #49556. Thanks @heavenlxj.
 - Docker: copy patched dependency files into runtime images so downstream `pnpm install` layers keep working. Fixes #69224. Thanks @gucasbrg.
 - Agents/runtime: submit heartbeat, cron, and exec wakeups as transient runtime context instead of visible user prompts, keeping synthetic system work out of chat transcripts. Fixes #66496 and #66814. Thanks @jeades and @mandomaker.
 - Telegram: include native quote excerpts automatically for threaded replies and reply tags when the original Telegram text is available, without adding another config knob. Fixes #6975. Thanks @rex05ai.

scripts/install.sh

@@ -1413,6 +1413,24 @@ ensure_default_node_active_shell() {
     return 1
 }
 
+load_nvm_for_node_detection() {
+    local nvm_dir="${NVM_DIR:-}"
+    if [[ -z "$nvm_dir" && -s "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh" ]]; then
+        nvm_dir="$HOME/.nvm"
+    fi
+    if [[ -z "$nvm_dir" || ! -s "$nvm_dir/nvm.sh" ]]; then
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    export NVM_DIR="$nvm_dir"
+    # shellcheck disable=SC1090
+    . "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" --no-use >/dev/null 2>&1 || . "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+    if command -v nvm >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        nvm use default --silent >/dev/null 2>&1 || nvm use node --silent >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+    fi
+    refresh_shell_command_cache
+}
+
 check_node() {
     if command -v node &> /dev/null; then
         NODE_VERSION="$(node_major_version || true)"
@@ -2369,6 +2387,7 @@ main() {
     install_homebrew
 
     # Step 2: Node.js
+    load_nvm_for_node_detection
     if ! check_node; then
         install_node
     fi

test/scripts/install-sh.test.ts

@@ -1,22 +1,23 @@
 import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
-import { mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { chmodSync, mkdtempSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
 const SCRIPT_PATH = "scripts/install.sh";
 
-function runInstallShell(script: string) {
+function runInstallShell(script: string, env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = {}) {
   return spawnSync("bash", ["-c", script], {
     encoding: "utf8",
     env: {
       ...process.env,
       OPENCLAW_INSTALL_SH_NO_RUN: "1",
+      ...env,
     },
   });
 }
 
-describe("install.sh apt behavior", () => {
+describe("install.sh", () => {
   const script = readFileSync(SCRIPT_PATH, "utf8");
 
   it("runs apt-get through noninteractive wrappers", () => {
@@ -41,6 +42,71 @@ describe("install.sh apt behavior", () => {
       'run_quiet_step "Configuring NodeSource repository" sudo -E bash "$tmp"',
     );
   });
+
+  it("loads nvm before checking Node.js so stale system Node does not win", () => {
+    expect(script).toMatch(
+      /# Step 2: Node\.js\s+load_nvm_for_node_detection\s+if ! check_node; then/,
+    );
+
+    const tmp = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "openclaw-install-nvm-"));
+    const home = join(tmp, "home");
+    const systemBin = join(tmp, "system-bin");
+    const nvmBin = join(home, ".nvm/versions/node/v22.22.1/bin");
+    mkdirSync(systemBin, { recursive: true });
+    mkdirSync(nvmBin, { recursive: true });
+    mkdirSync(join(home, ".nvm"), { recursive: true });
+
+    const systemNode = join(systemBin, "node");
+    const nvmNode = join(nvmBin, "node");
+    writeFileSync(systemNode, "#!/bin/sh\necho v8.11.3\n");
+    writeFileSync(nvmNode, "#!/bin/sh\necho v22.22.1\n");
+    chmodSync(systemNode, 0o755);
+    chmodSync(nvmNode, 0o755);
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(home, ".nvm/nvm.sh"),
+      [
+        'NVM_DIR="${NVM_DIR:-$HOME/.nvm}"',
+        "export NVM_DIR",
+        "nvm() {",
+        '  if [ "$1" = "use" ]; then',
+        '    export PATH="$NVM_DIR/versions/node/v22.22.1/bin:$PATH"',
+        "    return 0",
+        "  fi",
+        "  return 0",
+        "}",
+        "",
+      ].join("\n"),
+    );
+
+    let result: ReturnType<typeof runInstallShell> | undefined;
+    try {
+      result = runInstallShell(
+        [
+          `cd ${JSON.stringify(process.cwd())}`,
+          `source ${JSON.stringify(SCRIPT_PATH)}`,
+          "set +e",
+          "load_nvm_for_node_detection",
+          "check_node",
+          "status=$?",
+          'printf "status=%s\\npath=%s\\nversion=%s\\n" "$status" "$(command -v node)" "$(node -v)"',
+          "exit $status",
+        ].join("\n"),
+        {
+          HOME: home,
+          PATH: `${systemBin}:/usr/bin:/bin`,
+          TERM: "dumb",
+        },
+      );
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(tmp, { force: true, recursive: true });
+    }
+
+    expect(result?.status).toBe(0);
+    const output = result?.stdout ?? "";
+    expect(output).toContain("status=0");
+    expect(output).toContain(`path=${nvmNode}`);
+    expect(output).toContain("version=v22.22.1");
+  });
 });
 
 describe("install.sh macOS Homebrew Node behavior", () => {