This PowerShell script installs Node.JS v16.3.0 on Windows 10 without admin privileges.

install_nodejs_without_admin.ps1

# This powershell script installs Node.JS v16.3.0 without admin on Windows 10.
# See https://nodejs.org/en/download/ for direct download.
# A temporary path is created on your desktop called "DELETE_ME".
# Node is actually installed to %USERPROFILE%\node-v16.3.0-win-x64\

# Written by Zack Sargent on June 20th, 2021

$DesktopPath = [Environment]::GetFolderPath("Desktop")
$WorkPath = "$DesktopPath\DELETE_ME"

echo "Installing Node.JS ..."

$NodeName = "node-v16.3.0-win-x64"
$NodeURL = "https://nodejs.org/dist/v16.3.0/$NodeName.zip"
$NodeZipLocation = "$WorkPath\$NodeName.zip"
$InstallationDestination = "$env:userprofile" 
$RealInstallPath = "$InstallationDestination\$NodeName"

# Remove path if it already exists, so that this script can be run repeatedly
If (Test-Path $WorkPath){
	Remove-Item $WorkPath -Recurse
}
# Be very careful not to remove your user directory
If (Test-Path $RealInstallPath){
	Remove-Item $RealInstallPath -Recurse
}

New-Item -ItemType directory -Path $WorkPath

Start-Transcript -Path "$WorkPath\transcript_$(Get-Date -Format "MM-dd-yyyy_HH-mm").txt" -NoClobber

echo "NodeURL = $NodeURL"
echo "NodeZipLocation = $NodeZipLocation"
echo ""
echo ""

# Download zip file:
echo "Downloading Node.JS binary."
echo "This may take a while..."
(New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadFile($NodeURL, $NodeZipLocation)

echo ""
echo "Extracting from zip file..."
Expand-Archive $NodeZipLocation -DestinationPath $InstallationDestination

echo ""
echo "Add nodejs path to user Env:Path"
$CurrentPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User")
$AppendedPath = "$CurrentPath;$RealInstallPath;"
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $AppendedPath, "User")

Start-Sleep -s 5 # hold screen open for a few seconds