A picturesque guide to installing Node.js on your local computer

install-node.md

Installing Node.js

Windows

A: Download the Node.js Windows Installer

1. Go to https://nodejs.org/en/download/current/ in your favorite web browser.

2. Click on the big green Windows Installer button to download the installer.

   

3. If your browser asks what you want to do with the file, click Save.

   

B: Run the Node.js Windows Installer

1. Once your browser finishes downloading the installer, click Run to start the installer.

   

2. Click Next once the Setup Wizard opens.

   

3. Check the checkbox to accept the License Agreement and click Next.

   

4. Stick with the default Destination Folder and click Next.

   

5. On the Custom Setup page, just click Next.

   

6. To complete the installation, click the Install button.

   

7. If Windows asks you if you want to allow the app to make changes to your device, click Yes.

   

8. Once the installer confirms that installation was successful, click Finish to close the installer.

   

C: Verify Node.js installation on Windows

Let's open a command prompt to see if we can now run the node program.

1. Click the Windows/Start button and type node. Select the Node.js command prompt Desktop app to open a command prompt.

   

2. In the command prompt, type where node and click Enter. It should print a path to the node.exe executable.

   

3. Type where npm and click Enter. It should print at least one path to the npm batch script.

   

4. Type node -v && npm -v and click Enter. It should print the version numbers associated with each program.

   

Congratulations! Now you can run your own JavaScript files on your local computer using Node.js!

For next steps, if you want a decent lightweight code editor, download and install Atom from https://atom.io/.

Mac

A: Download the Node.js Macintosh Installer

1. Go to https://nodejs.org/en/download/current/ in your favorite web browser.

2. Click on the big green Macintosh Installer button to download the installer.

   

3. Once the dowload completes, click on the downloaded file in your browser to open the .pkg installer.

   

B: Run the Node.js Macintosh Installer

1. When the installer opens, click Continue.

   

2. When the License Agreement appears, click Continue.

   

3. To accept, click Agree.

   

4. Click Install.

   

5. When prompted, enter your user's password and click Install Software.

   

6. Once the installer confirms that installation was successful, click Close to close the installer.

   

C: Verify Node.js installation on Mac

Let's open a command prompt to see if we can now run the node program.

1. Hit Command ⌘ and Space and type terminal. Select the Terminal (under Utilities) Application.

2. In the terminal, type which node and click Return. It should print a path to the node executable.

   

3. Type which npm and click Return. It should print a path to the npm executable.

   

4. Type node -v && npm -v and click Return. It should print the version numbers associated with each program.

   

Congratulations! Now you can run your own JavaScript files on your local computer using Node.js!

For next steps, if you want a decent lightweight code editor, download and install Atom from https://atom.io/.