How to Install Node.js on Ubuntu

Node.js is a popular JavaScript runtime built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine. It allows developers to run JavaScript on the server-side, making it a valuable tool for building scalable and efficient web applications.

Step 1: Update Package Index

Before installing Node.js, it’s always a good practice to update the package index to ensure you’re installing the latest version available in the Ubuntu repositories.

sudo apt update

Step 2: Install Node.js

To install Node.js on Ubuntu, you can use the package manager apt. However, the node package in Ubuntu’s repositories might conflict with another utility called node, so it’s recommended to install Node.js using the official NodeSource repository.

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_16.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

This script will add the NodeSource repository and install Node.js version 16.x. You can change the version number as needed.

Step 3: Verify Installation

Once the installation is complete, you can verify the Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) versions by running the following commands:

node -v
npm -v

If you see the versions displayed, it means Node.js has been successfully installed on your Ubuntu system.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to install Node.js on Ubuntu using the official NodeSource repository. Node.js is a powerful tool for developing server-side applications in JavaScript, and by following these steps, you can start building your projects with Node.js on Ubuntu.