Installing nvm

1. We first need to install nvm so that we can install and manage our Node installations easily. Follow the appropriate guide for the OS that you are using:
   • Linux
   • MacOS

Installing Node

Now that we have nvm installed, we can use it to install Node.

1. In your terminal, run:

   nvm install --lts
   

   This will install the most recent stable version of Node in “long-term support” (LTS), and you’ll see a lot of output in the terminal. If everything worked, you should see something similar to this somewhere in the lines of output (with the Xs replaced with actual numbers):

   Downloading and installing Node vXX.xx.x...
   

   If not, close the terminal, re-open it and run nvm install --lts again.

2. We need to tell nvm which version of Node to use when we run the node command. It’s easy, just run the following command:

   nvm use --lts
   

   We have told nvm to use the most recent LTS version of Node installed on our computer. You must use the LTS version of Node to avoid incompatibilities with packages we will be installing in future lessons. The LTS version of Node is a version that is guaranteed support for thirty months after its initial release. It is more stable and compatible with a variety of packages than a non-LTS version of Node.

   Now when you run node -v, you should see vXX.xx.x or something similar (with the Xs replaced with actual numbers).

   Installing Node also installs npm alongside it. Run npm -v and like above you should see XX.xx.x or something similar.

   If you see those messages, you have successfully installed Node and npm!

3. Finally, we’ll implement a setting introduced in npm v11 that delays the installation of newly released dependencies. Run the following command in your terminal:

   npm config set min-release-age=3
   

   This setting will prevent npm from installing dependencies that were released less than three days ago, which can help avoid issues with newly released packages that may have been compromised, and help protect us from supply chain attacks.

Using the Node REPL

For convenience, Node provides a REPL which is an interactive console that lets you run and edit your JavaScript code right in your terminal, similar to the console in the browser you used in the previous lesson. This can be quite helpful to debug or test small snippets of non-browser-related code quickly without opening the browser every time.

To run the Node console, open up your terminal and run node on its own to open the REPL. Type .exit to quit the REPL.