Installing Node.js and NPM on Your Local Machine

Node.js and NPM (Node Package Manager) are fundamental tools for many developers today, enabling server-side scripting and the management of package dependencies. This guide will help you install Node.js and NPM on your local machine, covering the major operating systems: Windows, macOS, and Linux.

What are Node.js and NPM?

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. It's designed to build scalable network applications. In other words, it's a platform that runs JavaScript outside the web browser.

NPM stands for Node Package Manager. It's the default package manager for the JavaScript runtime environment Node.js. It consists of a command-line client and an online database of public and paid-for private packages, called the npm registry.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, you should have a basic understanding of command line interface (CLI) commands, as you'll need to use them to install Node.js and NPM. It's also useful, though not strictly necessary, to have some basic familiarity with JavaScript.

Installing Node.js and NPM

1. Windows

Via Direct Download:

1. Visit the official Node.js website's download page at https://nodejs.org/en/download/.
2. Click on the Windows Installer (.msi) 64-bit or 32-bit download link according to your system type.
3. After the download is complete, run the .msi file.
4. Follow the prompts in the Node.js Setup Wizard to complete the installation.

Via Package Manager:

For Windows, you can also use package managers like Chocolatey or Scoop.

1. Install Chocolatey from https://chocolatey.org/install.
2. Open a command prompt as administrator and run choco install nodejs.

Alternatively, with Scoop:

1. Install Scoop from https://scoop.sh/.
2. Open a command prompt and run scoop install nodejs.

2. macOS

Via Direct Download:

1. Visit the official Node.js website's download page at https://nodejs.org/en/download/.
2. Click on the macOS Installer (.pkg) download link.
3. After the download is complete, open the .pkg file.
4. Follow the prompts in the Node.js Setup Wizard to complete the installation.

Via Package Manager:

For macOS, you can use the Homebrew package manager.

1. Install Homebrew from https://brew.sh/.
2. Open Terminal and run brew install node.

3. Linux

Via Package Manager:

For Linux distributions, you can use the package manager of your distribution.

Debian and Ubuntu based distributions:

1. Open Terminal and update your local package index: sudo apt update
2. Install Node.js with: sudo apt install nodejs
3. Install npm with: sudo apt install npm

Fedora and other RPM-based distributions:

1. Open Terminal and update your local package index: sudo dnf update
2. Install Node.js with: sudo dnf install nodejs
3. Install npm with: sudo dnf install npm

Via NodeSource:

NodeSource provides more up-to-date versions of Node.js for Linux.

1. First, you need to install the PPA in order to get access to its contents. Use curl to perform this operation: curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_14.x | sudo -E bash -
2. Then install the Node.js package: sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

4. Verification

After the installations, you can confirm the successful installation of both Node.js and npm by checking their versions.

• For Node.js, open your CLI and type node -v. This will print the version number, e.g., v14.17.1.
• For npm, in your CLI, type npm -v. This will print the version number, e.g., 6.14.13.

Working with Multiple Node.js Versions

There are instances when you might need to work with different versions of Node.js for different projects. In such a scenario, using Node Version Manager (NVM) can be highly beneficial. Learn more about working with Node.js versions using NVM in this detailed guide.

Going Beyond: Setting Up MongoDB and Building a MERN Application

If you're looking to further leverage your Node.js and NPM installations, consider setting up a MongoDB database and learning how to build a MERN (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js) stack application. Here are step-by-step guides on installing MongoDB and building a simple event management app with the MERN stack.

Keeping Node.js and NPM Updated

While it's important to get Node.js and NPM installed initially, it's also important to keep them up-to-date. Updated versions often come with performance improvements, new features, and bug fixes.

Updating Node.js and NPM on Windows

If you're on Windows, the easiest way to update Node.js is to download the latest version directly from the official Node.js website and run the installer again. It will replace the old version with the new one.

For updating NPM, open your command prompt and run the following command:

npm install npm@latest -g

Updating Node.js and NPM on macOS

On macOS, if you've initially installed Node.js using Homebrew, you can upgrade it by running the following commands in your terminal:

brew update
brew upgrade node

To update NPM, use the following command:

npm install npm@latest -g

Updating Node.js and NPM on Linux

For Debian and Ubuntu based distributions, use these commands to update Node.js and NPM:

Conclusion

Congratulations! You now have Node.js and NPM installed on your local machine. You can start building your Node.js applications and use NPM for managing your project dependencies. Always ensure to keep them updated to the latest version to access new features and critical security patches.