Introduction
Node.js is a JavaScript platform for general-purpose programming that allows users to build network applications quickly. By leveraging JavaScript on both the front- and back-end, development can be more consistent and designed within the same system.
In this guide, we'll show you how to get started with Node.js on an Ubuntu 16.04 server.
How To Install the Distro-Stable Version for Ubuntu
Ubuntu 16.04 contains a version of Node.js in its default repositories that can be used to easily provide a consistent experience across multiple systems. At the time of writing, the version in the repositories is v4.2.6. This will not be the latest version, but it should be quite stable and sufficient for quick experimentation with the language.
In order to get this version, we just have to use the
apt package manager. We should refresh our local package index first, and then install from the repositories:sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nodejs
If the package in the repositories suits your needs, this is all you need to do to get set up with Node.js. In most cases, you'll also want to also install
npm, which is the Node.js package manager. You can do this by typing:sudo apt-get install npm
This will allow you to easily install modules and packages to use with Node.js.
Because of a conflict with another package, the executable from the Ubuntu repositories is called
nodejsinstead of node. Keep this in mind as you are running software.
To check which version of Node.js you have installed after these initial steps, type:
nodejs -v
Once you have established which version of Node.js you have installed from the Ubuntu repositories, you can decide whether or not you would like to work with different versions, package archives, or version managers. Next, we'll discuss these elements along with more flexible and robust methods of installation.
How To Install Using a PPA
An alternative that can get you a more recent version of Node.js is to add a PPA (personal package archive) maintained by NodeSource. This will have more up-to-date versions of Node.js than the official Ubuntu repositories, and allows you to choose between Node.js v4.x (the older long-term support version, which will be supported until April of 2018), Node.js v6.x (supported until April of 2019), and Node.js v8.x (the current LTS version, supported until December of 2019).
First, you need to install the PPA in order to get access to its contents. Make sure you're in your home directory, and use
curl to retrieve the installation script for your preferred version, making sure to replace 8.x with your preferred version string (if different):cd ~
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_8.x -o nodesource_setup.sh
You can inspect the contents of this script with
nano (or your preferred text editor):nano nodesource_setup.sh
And run the script under
sudo:sudo bash nodesource_setup.sh
The PPA will be added to your configuration and your local package cache will be updated automatically. After running the setup script from nodesource, you can install the Node.js package in the same way you did above:
sudo apt-get install nodejs
The
nodejs package contains the nodejs binary as well as npm, so you don't need to install npmseparately. However, in order for some npm packages to work (those that require compiling code from source, for example), you will need to install the build-essential package:sudo apt-get install build-essential
You now have the necessary tools to work with npm packages that require compiling code from source.
How To Install Using NVM
An alternative to installing Node.js through
apt is to use a specially designed tool called nvm, which stands for "Node.js version manager". Rather than working at the operating system level, nvm works at the level of an independent directory within your home directory. This means that you can install multiple, self-contained versions of Node.js without affecting the entire system.
Controlling your environment with
nvm allows you to access the newest versions of Node.js and retain and manage previous releases. It is a different utility from apt-get, however, and the versions of Node.js that you manage through it are distinct from the distro-stable version of Node.js available from the Ubuntu repositories.
To start off, we'll need to get the software packages from our Ubuntu repositories that will allow us to build source packages. The nvm script will leverage these tools to build the necessary components:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential libssl-dev
Once the prerequisite packages are installed, you can pull down the nvm installation script from the project's GitHub page. The version number may be different, but in general, you can download it with
curl:curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.33.8/install.sh -o install_nvm.sh
And inspect the installation script with
nano:nano install_nvm.sh
Run the script with
bash:
- bash install_nvm.sh
It will install the software into a subdirectory of your home directory at
~/.nvm. It will also add the necessary lines to your ~/.profile file to use the file.
To gain access to the nvm functionality, you'll need to log out and log back in again, or you can source the
~/.profile file so that your current session knows about the changes:source ~/.profile
Now that you have nvm installed, you can install isolated Node.js versions.
To find out the versions of Node.js that are available for installation, you can type:
nvm ls-remote
Output
...
v8.5.0
v8.6.0
v8.7.0
v8.8.0
v8.8.1
v8.9.0
v8.9.1
v8.9.2
v8.9.3
-> v8.9.4 (Latest LTS: Carbon)
As you can see, the newest LTS version at the time of this writing is v8.9.4. You can install that by typing:
nvm install 8.9.4
Usually, nvm will switch to use the most recently installed version. You can explicitly tell nvm to use the version we just downloaded by typing:
nvm use 8.9.4
When you install Node.js using nvm, the executable is called
node. You can see the version currently being used by the shell by typing:node -v
Output
v8.9.4