diff --git a/.changeset/violet-pots-occur.md b/.changeset/violet-pots-occur.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4972705e0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/violet-pots-occur.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+"@pnpm/plugin-commands-env": patch
+"pnpm": patch
+---
+
+The `use-node-version` setting should work with prerelease Node.js versions. For instance:
+
+```
+use-node-version=18.0.0-rc.3
+```
+
diff --git a/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/env.ts b/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/env.ts
index f8d16abbf4..8d4d779602 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/env.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/env.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ import { createFetchFromRegistry } from '@pnpm/fetch'
 import cmdShim from '@zkochan/cmd-shim'
 import renderHelp from 'render-help'
 import { getNodeDir, NvmNodeCommandOptions } from './node'
+import getNodeMirror from './getNodeMirror'
 import resolveNodeVersion from './resolveNodeVersion'
+import { parseNodeVersionSelector } from './parseNodeVersionSelector'
 
 export function rcOptionsTypes () {
   return {}
@@ -58,14 +60,16 @@ export async function handler (opts: NvmNodeCommandOptions, params: string[]) {
       throw new PnpmError('NOT_IMPLEMENTED_YET', '"pnpm env use <version>" can only be used with the "--global" option currently')
     }
     const fetch = createFetchFromRegistry(opts)
-    const { version: nodeVersion, releaseDir } = await resolveNodeVersion(fetch, params[1], opts.rawConfig)
+    const { releaseDir, version } = parseNodeVersionSelector(params[1])
+    const nodeMirrorBaseUrl = getNodeMirror(opts.rawConfig, releaseDir)
+    const nodeVersion = await resolveNodeVersion(fetch, version, nodeMirrorBaseUrl)
     if (!nodeVersion) {
       throw new PnpmError('COULD_NOT_RESOLVE_NODEJS', `Couldn't find Node.js version matching ${params[1]}`)
     }
     const nodeDir = await getNodeDir(fetch, {
       ...opts,
       useNodeVersion: nodeVersion,
-      releaseDir,
+      nodeMirrorBaseUrl,
     })
     const src = path.join(nodeDir, process.platform === 'win32' ? 'node.exe' : 'bin/node')
     const dest = path.join(opts.bin, process.platform === 'win32' ? 'node.exe' : 'node')
diff --git a/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/node.ts b/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/node.ts
index 34a62b4446..398661ff19 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/node.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/node.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import loadJsonFile from 'load-json-file'
 import writeJsonFile from 'write-json-file'
 import normalizeArch from './normalizeArch'
 import getNodeMirror from './getNodeMirror'
+import { parseNodeVersionSelector } from './parseNodeVersionSelector'
 
 export type NvmNodeCommandOptions = Pick<Config,
 | 'bin'
@@ -39,14 +40,8 @@ export type NvmNodeCommandOptions = Pick<Config,
 
 export async function getNodeBinDir (opts: NvmNodeCommandOptions) {
   const fetch = createFetchFromRegistry(opts)
-  const nodeDir = await getNodeDir(fetch, opts)
-  return process.platform === 'win32' ? nodeDir : path.join(nodeDir, 'bin')
-}
-
-export async function getNodeDir (fetch: FetchFromRegistry, opts: NvmNodeCommandOptions & { releaseDir?: string }) {
-  const nodesDir = path.join(opts.pnpmHomeDir, 'nodejs')
+  const nodesDir = getNodeVersionsBaseDir(opts.pnpmHomeDir)
   let wantedNodeVersion = opts.useNodeVersion ?? (await readNodeVersionsManifest(nodesDir))?.default
-  await fs.promises.mkdir(nodesDir, { recursive: true })
   if (wantedNodeVersion == null) {
     const response = await fetch('https://registry.npmjs.org/node')
     wantedNodeVersion = (await response.json() as any)['dist-tags'].lts // eslint-disable-line
@@ -57,16 +52,32 @@ export async function getNodeDir (fetch: FetchFromRegistry, opts: NvmNodeCommand
       default: wantedNodeVersion,
     })
   }
-  const versionDir = path.join(nodesDir, wantedNodeVersion)
+  const { version, releaseDir } = parseNodeVersionSelector(wantedNodeVersion)
+  const nodeMirrorBaseUrl = getNodeMirror(opts.rawConfig, releaseDir)
+  const nodeDir = await getNodeDir(fetch, {
+    ...opts,
+    useNodeVersion: version,
+    nodeMirrorBaseUrl,
+  })
+  return process.platform === 'win32' ? nodeDir : path.join(nodeDir, 'bin')
+}
+
+function getNodeVersionsBaseDir (pnpmHomeDir: string) {
+  return path.join(pnpmHomeDir, 'nodejs')
+}
+
+export async function getNodeDir (fetch: FetchFromRegistry, opts: NvmNodeCommandOptions & { useNodeVersion: string, nodeMirrorBaseUrl: string }) {
+  const nodesDir = getNodeVersionsBaseDir(opts.pnpmHomeDir)
+  await fs.promises.mkdir(nodesDir, { recursive: true })
+  const versionDir = path.join(nodesDir, opts.useNodeVersion)
   if (!fs.existsSync(versionDir)) {
-    await installNode(fetch, wantedNodeVersion, versionDir, opts)
+    await installNode(fetch, opts.useNodeVersion, versionDir, opts)
   }
   return versionDir
 }
 
-async function installNode (fetch: FetchFromRegistry, wantedNodeVersion: string, versionDir: string, opts: NvmNodeCommandOptions & { releaseDir?: string }) {
-  const nodeMirror = getNodeMirror(opts.rawConfig, opts.releaseDir ?? 'release')
-  const { tarball, pkgName } = getNodeJSTarball(wantedNodeVersion, nodeMirror)
+async function installNode (fetch: FetchFromRegistry, wantedNodeVersion: string, versionDir: string, opts: NvmNodeCommandOptions & { nodeMirrorBaseUrl: string }) {
+  const { tarball, pkgName } = getNodeJSTarball(wantedNodeVersion, opts.nodeMirrorBaseUrl)
   if (tarball.endsWith('.zip')) {
     await downloadAndUnpackZip(fetch, tarball, versionDir, pkgName)
     return
diff --git a/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/parseNodeVersionSelector.ts b/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/parseNodeVersionSelector.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..66e33afbbb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/parseNodeVersionSelector.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+export function parseNodeVersionSelector (rawVersionSelector: string) {
+  if (rawVersionSelector.includes('/')) {
+    const [releaseDir, version] = rawVersionSelector.split('/')
+    return { releaseDir, version }
+  }
+  const prereleaseMatch = rawVersionSelector.match(/-(nightly|rc|test|v8-canary)/)
+  if (prereleaseMatch != null) {
+    return { releaseDir: prereleaseMatch[1], version: rawVersionSelector }
+  }
+  if (['nightly', 'rc', 'test', 'release', 'v8-canary'].includes(rawVersionSelector)) {
+    return { releaseDir: rawVersionSelector, version: 'latest' }
+  }
+  return { releaseDir: 'release', version: rawVersionSelector }
+}
diff --git a/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/resolveNodeVersion.ts b/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/resolveNodeVersion.ts
index 79966d53d8..3b4a629186 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/resolveNodeVersion.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-commands-env/src/resolveNodeVersion.ts
@@ -1,47 +1,22 @@
-import { Config } from '@pnpm/config'
 import { FetchFromRegistry } from '@pnpm/fetch'
 import semver from 'semver'
 import versionSelectorType from 'version-selector-type'
-import getNodeMirror from './getNodeMirror'
 
 interface NodeVersion {
   version: string
   lts: false | string
 }
 
-export default async function resolveNodeVersion (fetch: FetchFromRegistry, rawVersionSelector: string, rawConfig: Config['rawConfig']) {
-  const { releaseDir, version } = parseNodeVersionSelector(rawVersionSelector)
-  const nodeMirrorBaseUrl = getNodeMirror(rawConfig, releaseDir)
+export default async function resolveNodeVersion (fetch: FetchFromRegistry, version: string, nodeMirrorBaseUrl: string): Promise<string | null> {
   const response = await fetch(`${nodeMirrorBaseUrl}index.json`)
   const allVersions = (await response.json()) as NodeVersion[]
   if (version === 'latest') {
-    return {
-      version: allVersions[0].version.substring(1),
-      releaseDir,
-    }
+    return allVersions[0].version.substring(1)
   }
   const { versions, versionSelector } = filterVersions(allVersions, version)
   const pickedVersion = semver.maxSatisfying(versions.map(({ version }) => version), versionSelector, { includePrerelease: true, loose: true })
-  if (!pickedVersion) return { version: null, releaseDir }
-  return {
-    version: pickedVersion.substring(1),
-    releaseDir,
-  }
-}
-
-function parseNodeVersionSelector (rawVersionSelector: string) {
-  if (rawVersionSelector.includes('/')) {
-    const [releaseDir, version] = rawVersionSelector.split('/')
-    return { releaseDir, version }
-  }
-  const prereleaseMatch = rawVersionSelector.match(/-(nightly|rc|test|v8-canary)/)
-  if (prereleaseMatch != null) {
-    return { releaseDir: prereleaseMatch[1], version: rawVersionSelector }
-  }
-  if (['nightly', 'rc', 'test', 'release', 'v8-canary'].includes(rawVersionSelector)) {
-    return { releaseDir: rawVersionSelector, version: 'latest' }
-  }
-  return { releaseDir: 'release', version: rawVersionSelector }
+  if (!pickedVersion) return null
+  return pickedVersion.substring(1)
 }
 
 function filterVersions (versions: NodeVersion[], versionSelector: string) {
diff --git a/packages/plugin-commands-env/test/node.test.ts b/packages/plugin-commands-env/test/node.test.ts
index 8c98f6a20e..585fd88d20 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-commands-env/test/node.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-commands-env/test/node.test.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,28 @@ import { Readable } from 'stream'
 import { node } from '@pnpm/plugin-commands-env'
 import { tempDir } from '@pnpm/prepare'
 
+const fetchMock = jest.fn(async (url: string) => {
+  if (url.endsWith('.zip')) {
+    // The Windows code path for pnpm's node bootstrapping expects a subdir
+    // within the .zip file.
+    const pkgName = path.basename(url, '.zip')
+    const zip = new AdmZip()
+    zip.addFile(`${pkgName}/dummy-file`, Buffer.from('test'))
+
+    return new Response(Readable.from(zip.toBuffer()))
+  }
+
+  return new Response(Readable.from(Buffer.alloc(0)))
+})
+
+jest.mock('@pnpm/fetch', () => ({
+  createFetchFromRegistry: () => fetchMock,
+}))
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  fetchMock.mockClear()
+})
+
 test('check API (placeholder test)', async () => {
   expect(typeof node.getNodeDir).toBe('function')
 })
@@ -25,23 +47,29 @@ test('install Node uses node-mirror:release option', async () => {
     useNodeVersion: '16.4.0',
   }
 
-  const fetchMock = jest.fn(async (url: string) => {
-    if (url.endsWith('.zip')) {
-      // The Windows code path for pnpm's node bootstrapping expects a subdir
-      // within the .zip file.
-      const pkgName = path.basename(url, '.zip')
-      const zip = new AdmZip()
-      zip.addFile(`${pkgName}/dummy-file`, Buffer.from('test'))
-
-      return new Response(Readable.from(zip.toBuffer()))
-    }
-
-    return new Response(Readable.from(Buffer.alloc(0)))
-  })
-
-  await node.getNodeDir(fetchMock, opts)
+  await node.getNodeBinDir(opts)
 
   for (const call of fetchMock.mock.calls) {
     expect(call[0]).toMatch(nodeMirrorRelease)
   }
 })
+
+test('install and rc version of Node.js', async () => {
+  tempDir()
+  const configDir = path.resolve('config')
+
+  const opts: node.NvmNodeCommandOptions = {
+    bin: process.cwd(),
+    configDir,
+    global: true,
+    pnpmHomeDir: process.cwd(),
+    rawConfig: {},
+    useNodeVersion: 'rc/18.0.0-rc.3',
+  }
+
+  await node.getNodeBinDir(opts)
+
+  const platform = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'win' : process.platform
+  const extension = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'zip' : 'tar.gz'
+  expect(fetchMock.mock.calls[0][0]).toBe(`https://nodejs.org/download/rc/v18.0.0-rc.3/node-v18.0.0-rc.3-${platform}-x64.${extension}`)
+})
diff --git a/packages/plugin-commands-env/test/parseNodeVersionSelector.test.ts b/packages/plugin-commands-env/test/parseNodeVersionSelector.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2363505e14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/plugin-commands-env/test/parseNodeVersionSelector.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+import { parseNodeVersionSelector } from '../lib/parseNodeVersionSelector'
+
+test.each([
+  ['6', '6', 'release'],
+  ['16.0.0-rc.0', '16.0.0-rc.0', 'rc'],
+  ['rc/10', '10', 'rc'],
+  ['nightly', 'latest', 'nightly'],
+  ['lts', 'lts', 'release'],
+  ['argon', 'argon', 'release'],
+  ['latest', 'latest', 'release'],
+])('Node.js version selector is parsed', (spec, version, releaseDir) => {
+  const node = parseNodeVersionSelector(spec)
+  expect(node.version).toMatch(version)
+  expect(node.releaseDir).toBe(releaseDir)
+})
diff --git a/packages/plugin-commands-env/test/resolveNodeVersion.test.ts b/packages/plugin-commands-env/test/resolveNodeVersion.test.ts
index 0e51771763..df9337f7ad 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-commands-env/test/resolveNodeVersion.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-commands-env/test/resolveNodeVersion.test.ts
@@ -3,18 +3,15 @@ import resolveNodeVersion from '../lib/resolveNodeVersion'
 
 const fetch = createFetchFromRegistry({})
 
-const rawConfig = {}
-
 test.each([
-  ['6', '6.17.1', 'release'],
-  ['16.0.0-rc.0', '16.0.0-rc.0', 'rc'],
-  ['rc/10', '10.23.0-rc.0', 'rc'],
-  ['nightly', /.+/, 'nightly'],
-  ['lts', /.+/, 'release'],
-  ['argon', '4.9.1', 'release'],
-  ['latest', /.+/, 'release'],
-])('Node.js %s is resolved', async (spec, version, releaseDir) => {
-  const node = await resolveNodeVersion(fetch, spec, rawConfig)
-  expect(node.version).toMatch(version)
-  expect(node.releaseDir).toBe(releaseDir)
+  ['https://nodejs.org/download/release/', '6', '6.17.1'],
+  ['https://nodejs.org/download/rc/', '16.0.0-rc.0', '16.0.0-rc.0'],
+  ['https://nodejs.org/download/rc/', '10', '10.23.0-rc.0'],
+  ['https://nodejs.org/download/nightly/', 'latest', /.+/],
+  ['https://nodejs.org/download/release/', 'lts', /.+/],
+  ['https://nodejs.org/download/release/', 'argon', '4.9.1'],
+  ['https://nodejs.org/download/release/', 'latest', /.+/],
+])('Node.js %s is resolved', async (nodeMirrorBaseUrl, spec, expectedVersion) => {
+  const version = await resolveNodeVersion(fetch, spec, nodeMirrorBaseUrl)
+  expect(version).toMatch(expectedVersion)
 })