node fails with `libatomic.so.1: cannot open shared object file` on minimal AlmaLinux/RHEL 9

[huangsen365]

What happened

After installing Node via fnm on a minimal AlmaLinux 9 image, running node fails immediately:

node: error while loading shared libraries: libatomic.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

The fnm-managed Node binary links against libatomic.so.1, which is not present by default on minimal AlmaLinux/RHEL 9 (and likely other minimal RHEL-family) installs.

Environment

• fnm: 1.39.0
• Node: v26.3.1 (installed via fnm install)
• OS: AlmaLinux 9.8 (Olive Jaguar), x86_64

Workaround

dnf install -y libatomic && ldconfig

After this, ldd $(which node) resolves libatomic.so.1 and node -v works.

Suggestion

This is a confusing failure because fnm reports a successful install, but the binary can't run. A couple of options the team might consider:

1. Document the libatomic prerequisite for RHEL-family/minimal distros in the install/troubleshooting docs.
2. Surface a clearer error / pre-flight check — e.g. detect a missing libatomic.so.1 after install and print a hint with the dnf install libatomic fix, rather than letting the raw loader error surface only when the user runs node.

Happy to provide more details if useful.