Note
the followin content is from Linuxfoundation.org
Often Node.js can be installed with a particular operating system's official or unofficial package manager. For instance apt-get on Debian/Ubuntu, Brew on macOs, Chocolatey on Windows. It is strongly recommended against using this approach to install Node. Package managers tend to lag behind the faster Node.js release cycle. Additionally, the placement of binary and config files and folders isn't standardized across OS package managers and can cause compatibility issues.
Another significant issue with installing Node.js via an OS package manager is that installing global modules with Node's module installer (npm) tends to require the use of sudo (a command which grants root privileges) on non-Windows systems. This is not an ideal setup for a developer machine and granting root privileges to the install process of third-party libraries is not a good security practice.
Node can also be installed directly from the Node.js website. Again on macOS and Linux it needs sudo for installing global libraries. Whether Windows, macOS or Linux, in the following sections we'll present a better way to install Node using a version manager.
It's strongly recommended that if Node is installed via an Operating System Package Manager or directly via the website, that it be completely uninstalled before proceeding to the following sections.
The recommended way to install Node.js on macOS and Linux is by using a Node version manager, in particular nvm. See GitHub for more details on nvm.
Let's install nvm and then use it to install Node.
The current nvm version is v0.40.1 (as of February 2025), so the install process will contain this version in the URL, if a greater version is out at time of reading, replace v0.40.1 with the current nvm version. For this installation process we assume that Bash, Sh, or Zsh is the shell being used, Fish is not supported but see the nvm README for alternatives.
The way to install nvm is via the install script available on GitHub: nvm-sh/nvm. If curl is installed (it usually is) a single command can be used to install and set up nvm:
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.1/install.sh | bash``
If using zsh (e.g., on newer macOS releases) the bash part of the command can be replaced with zsh.
Alternatively, the file can be downloaded and saved, and then executed like so:
cat install.sh | bash
Again bash can be replaced with zsh. To check that the installation was successful execute the following in the terminal:
command -v nvm
It should output nvm. If this fails on Linux, close and reopen the terminal (or SSH session) and try running the command again. On macOS see GitHub for in-depth troubleshooting instructions.
Now that we have a version manager, let's install the latest Node version:
nvm install node # "node" is an alias for the latest version
This will install the latest version of Node v22.13.1.
Tip
Verify that Node is installed, and which version, with the following command:
node -v
There are two ways to install Node.js on Windows:
Note: the information here is from https://github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows?tab=readme-ov-file
⭐ ⭐ Uninstall any pre-existing Node installations!! ⭐ ⭐
Regarding the point above, check the answer on this stackoverflow question please: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20711240/how-to-completely-remove-node-js-from-windows
Use the latest installer (comes with an uninstaller). Alternatively, follow the manual installation guide.
Read more about the installation in here: https://github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows/blob/master/README.md
Following are basic setup instructions. For more details and options for setting up NVS, refer to the Setup page.
source: https://github.com/jasongin/nvs
A Windows Installer (MSI) package is available from the NVS releases page on GitHub.
You can use winget to install it (available by default in Windows 11):
winget install jasongin.nvsYou can also use chocolatey to install it:
choco install nvs
To add the latest version of node:
$ nvs add latest
Or to add the latest LTS version of node:
$ nvs add lts
Then run the nvs use command to add a version of node to your PATH for the current shell:
$ nvs use lts
PATH += ~/.nvs/node/6.9.1/x64
To add it to PATH permanently, use nvs link:
$ nvs link lts
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
nvs help <command> |
Get detailed help for a command |
nvs install |
Initialize your profile for using NVS |
nvs uninstall |
Remove NVS from profile and environment |
nvs --version |
Display the NVS tool version |
nvs add [version] |
Download and extract a node version |
nvs rm <version> |
Remove a node version |
nvs migrate <fromver> [tover] |
Migrate global modules |
nvs upgrade [fromver] |
Upgrade to latest patch of major version |
nvs use [version] |
Use a node version in the current shell |
nvs auto [on/off] |
Automatically switch based on cwd |
nvs run <ver> <js> [args...] |
Run a script using a node version |
nvs exec <ver> <exe> [args...] |
Run an executable using a node version |
nvs which [version] |
Show the path to a node version binary |
nvs ls [filter] |
List local node versions |
nvs ls-remote [filter] |
List node versions available to download |
nvs link [version] |
Link a version as the default |
nvs unlink [version] |
Remove links to a default version |
nvs alias [name] [value] |
Set or recall aliases for versions |
nvs remote [name] [value] |
Set or recall download base URIs |