Use one of these techniques to install node and npm without having to sudo. Discussed in more detail at http://joyeur.com/2010/12/10/installing-node-and-npm/ Note: npm >=0.3 is *safer* when using sudo.

node-and-npm-in-30-seconds.sh

echo 'export PATH=$HOME/local/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
. ~/.bashrc
mkdir ~/local
mkdir ~/node-latest-install
cd ~/node-latest-install
curl http://nodejs.org/dist/node-latest.tar.gz | tar xz --strip-components=1
./configure --prefix=~/local
make install # ok, fine, this step probably takes more than 30 seconds...
curl https://www.npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

only-git-all-the-way.sh

# this way is best if you want to stay up to date
# or submit patches to node or npm

mkdir ~/local
echo 'export PATH=$HOME/local/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
. ~/.bashrc

# could also fork, and then clone your own fork instead of the official one

git clone git://github.com/joyent/node.git
cd node
./configure --prefix=~/local
make install
cd ..

git clone git://github.com/isaacs/npm.git
cd npm
make install # or `make link` for bleeding edge

take-ownership.sh

# take ownership of the folders that npm/node use
# please don't do this if you don't know what it does!
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/{share/man,bin,lib/node,include/node}
sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/{share/man,bin,lib/node,include/node}

# now just a pretty vanilla node install
# let it use the default paths, but don't use sudo, since there's no need
mkdir node-install
curl http://nodejs.org/dist/node-v0.4.3.tar.gz | tar -xzf - -C node-install
cd node-install/*
./configure
make install

# now the npm easy-install
curl https://www.npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

use-nave-no-shell.sh

# use nave, but without a subshell
# note that we're doing "usemain" instead of "use"

mkdir ~/.nave
cd ~/.nave
wget http://github.com/isaacs/nave/raw/master/nave.sh
sudo ln -s $PWD/nave.sh /usr/local/bin/nave

# take ownership
# please don't do this if you don't know what it does!
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/{share/man,bin,lib/node,include/node}
sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/{share/man,bin,lib/node,include/node}

# install the latest stable nodejs in the "main" root.
nave usemain stable

curl https://www.npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

use-nave.sh

# this way is really handy if you want to test things
# in different versions of node and use stable release
# versions of things.

# make a folder where you want to keep this stuff.

mkdir ~/.nave
cd ~/.nave
wget http://github.com/isaacs/nave/raw/master/nave.sh
sudo ln -s $PWD/nave.sh /usr/local/bin/nave

# now you can forget about that folder.
# you never have to go back in there.

# to use a version of node in a virtual environment
nave use 0.4.8

# to install npm in that virtualenv
curl https://www.npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

# do stuff...
npm install whatever etc

# return to non-nave-land
exit

# use a different version of node..
nave use 0.4.6
# etc...

using-homebrew.sh

# using Homebrew

# Note: `brew install npm` has problems, as of 2010-12-30.
# hopefully it will eventually be good and happy.
# As of npm@0.2.13, however, this is an option

PREFIX=$(brew --prefix)

# take ownership
# this will also let homebrew work without using sudo
# please don't do this if you don't know what it does!
sudo mkdir -p $PREFIX/{share/man,bin,lib/node,include/node}
sudo chown -R $USER $PREFIX/{share/man,bin,lib/node,include/node}

brew install node

# now install npm
# prefix will default to $(brew --prefix)
curl https://www.npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

xgd-freedesktop.org-style.sh

echo 'export PATH=$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export npm_config_userconfig=$HOME/.config/npmrc' >> ~/.bashrc
. ~/.bashrc
mkdir ~/.local
mkdir ~/node-latest-install
cd ~/node-latest-install
curl http://nodejs.org/dist/node-latest.tar.gz | tar xz --strip-components=1
./configure --prefix=~/.local
make install
curl https://www.npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

yet-another-option.sh

# install node wherever.
# use sudo even, it doesn't matter
# we're telling npm to install in a different place.

echo prefix = ~/local >> ~/.npmrc
curl https://www.npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

BellAppLab, your suggestion worked for me. And it's super easy. Thank you...

Using nvm was much easier and faster:

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.32.0/install.sh | bash
# open new shell
command -v nvm # should output "nvm"
nvm install node

... done in 30 seconds and installed node 6.6

i have Q about the mocha test, i have done the first step but my Q is are mocha going to test all the files ?

thanks @shadiakiki1986
That worked.

Cheers, this really helped me with my new nutrition blog.

Thanks!

As of March 2017, which methodology is the best? My use case is bizarre. We have an OpenStack prod server that's only on Node 0.10. We have like no permissions on the prod server except one directory where our code goes. So literally going to try to put the latest node version in our project, desperate times desperate measures. LOL.

hello guys i installed Laravel 5 Simple CMS but when i open browser i receive this error

QueryException in Connection.php line 647:
SQLSTATE[42S02]: Base table or view not found: 1146 Table 'yp.settings' doesn't exist (SQL: select * from settings limit 1)

Hey everyone, newsflash: GitHub doesn't send notification email for gists!

So it's nice and all to say Thanks and ask questions, but don't be surprised that isaacs hasn't replied since 2014.

Hi, I needed to install an older version of node and I did
curl -L http://nodejs.org/dist/node-v0.4.tar.gz | tar xz --strip-components=1
The problem is that npm install throws an error saying that my node version is outdated.

You are using an outdated and unsupported version of
node (v0.4.8). Please update node and try again.

Does anyone know how I could install an older version of npm to work with node?

@shadiakiki1986 Thank you. Worked perfect.

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.32.0/install.sh | bash
# open new shell
command -v nvm # should output "nvm"
nvm install node

Worked on Bluehost as of 10/5/17.

First option worket fine to me <3

curl -L https://git.io/n-install | bash

This is by far the simplest way to get started with both n and Node.js - even if you're looking to install only the latest stable Node.js version, with no (immediate) plans to install multiple versions.

n is installed as follows:

• The installation target is a dedicated directory, which defaults to ~/n and can be overridden with environment variable N_PREFIX; n itself as well as the active Node.js version are placed there.
  • When overriding, it is advisable to choose a user location - typically, a subfolder of ~ (at any level) - so as to avoid the need to use sudo for installation of global npm packages.
  • Either way, the target directory must either not exist yet or be empty.
  • Using a dedicated directory to hold both n and the Node.js versions greatly simplifies later uninstallation.
• If your shell is bash, ksh, or zsh, the relevant shell initialization file is modified:
  • Environment variable N_PREFIX is defined to point to the installation directory.
  • Directory $N_PREFIX/bin is appended to the $PATH, unless already present.
  • For other shells, these modification must be performed manually; instructions are provided during installation.
  • You can also explicitly suppress modification with the -n option.
• By default, the latest stable Node.js version is installed; you can suppress that or even specify multiple Node.js versions to install.
• Note that any preexisting n, Node.js installation must be removed before using this installation method.
• All installation prerequisites are met by default on OSX and some Linux distros; notably, git and curl must be present - see Installing n for details.
• After installation, be sure to open a new terminal tab or window or reload your shell initialization file before attempting to use n / Node.js - see

See examples below, and Installing n for prerequisites and installation options.

Examples

See Installation options for details.

• Installation with confirmation prompt to default location $HOME/n and installation of the latest stable Node.js version:

curl -L https://git.io/n-install | bash

• Automated installation to default location $HOME/n and installation of the latest stable Node.js version:

curl -L https://git.io/n-install | bash -s -- -y

• Automated, quiet installation to default location $HOME/n and installation of the latest stable Node.js version; no status information
  is displayed:

curl -sL https://git.io/n-install | bash -s -- -q

• Automated installation to the default location, with subsequent installation of the latest LTS
  (Long Term Support) version, and the latest 0.10.x release:

curl -L https://git.io/n-install | bash -s -- -y lts 0.10

• Automated installation to custom location ~/util/n, with subsequent installation of the latest stable Node.js version:

curl -L https://git.io/n-install | N_PREFIX=~/util/n bash -s -- -y

Installing n

Supported platforms and prerequisites

Among the platforms supported by n, any Unix-like platform with the following is supported:

• bash
• curl
• git
• GNU make

source

This is awesome - exactly what I was looking for. I used option one ('cause I'm lazy and wanted to get on to the hacking) - for those on OSX, install XCode first. Also, I ended up getting a 301 Moved Permanently error but I just did subbed in:

curl -L https://npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

and now it looks like I'm gtg.

@isaacs the second one works, if your macbook/iMAc doesn't allow the git clone just download the zip of node/npm and you can do the remaining from the downloads itself. It works, Thanks.

I am on RHEL 7. What does the final line in the 30 seconds procedure do: curl https://www.npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

I keep getting registry.npmjs.org error and fails because I am behind a proxy and I would have to fix it. Do I need it?
It seems my node --version and npm --version shows shows the latest version anyway when I run them.

I am using CentOS 7 and ran first script. I ran the last script as:

curl -k -L https://npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

when i tried checking the version says: no such file or directory.

Well, it took longer than 5 minutes for me to install with step 1.
I don't know why people don't use ...
sudo apt-get install nodejs-legacy npm
Edit:: Oh I tried. It installs node 3.X in Ubuntu 16.04.

Also, if you quickly want to install (as I did):
Step 1:
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_9.x | sudo -E bash -(latest)
Now, install it

Step 2:
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

To install other versions of node, follow this guide.

It looks like one person used the method I mentioned earlier in this thread. I'll post this again because problems need solutions. 🚀

n-install

Make sure you follow the instructions if you already have node and npm installed.

How do I uninstall if I installed with the 1st way?

node-and-npm-in-30-seconds.sh
CentOS 7

You may want to change the npm install url to: https://www.npmjs.com/install.sh
from here: https://gist.github.com/isaacs/579814#file-node-and-npm-in-30-seconds-sh-L9

And to update @eltrhn 's comment, the npm github repository link should now read git://github.com/npm/cli.git
cd npm will thus also need changing to cd cli.

Thanks you for compiling this, it helped!

yet-another-option.sh needs the -L option for curl now.

echo prefix = ~/local >> ~/.npmrc
curl -L https://www.npmjs.org/install.sh | s

@dreaddymck The correct command would be ...
curl -L https://www.npmjs.org/install.sh | sh

Method one works fine on Debian Stretch. Really helpful !!!

After I got PhpStorm problem : Failed to run File Watcher 'Sass'. The watcher has been disabled.
So I needed to do :
ln -s /home/yourname/local/bin/node /usr/bin/node

Still working @sethbergman - cheers!

Any suggestions, followed method 1 and all successful until the end of the make process: ./deps/zlib/deflate.c:54:10: fatal error: 'contrib/optimizations/insert_string.h' file not found. Any suggestions? Had been running for 30+ mins prior to the error.

Below are the simple steps to proceed with the installation

Open Terminal
Run command to install nodejs : sudo apt install nodejs
Run command to verify installation by checking version: node -v or node –version
Run command to install npm: sudo apt install npm
Run command to verify installation of npm: npm -v or npm –version

For reference: https://youtu.be/DGjfw4y0nTI

I am using the first method for installation in a ruby docker image ,and it finally throws error.Tried many approach doesn’t seems to work,if someone can guide me how to install it inside a ruby docker image,thanks