Home ⊳ Topics ⊳ Development ⊳ Developer-Tools ⊳ Node.js and NPM (Node Package Manager) ⊳ Installation and Usage of Javascript Developer Tools NVM, Node.js (v22), NPM (v10)
 Date: March 5, 2025 /  Author: Ralf Eichinger

Installation and Usage of Javascript Developer Tools NVM, Node.js (v22), NPM (v10)

Introduction

For frontend development with Javascript frameworks (like Angular, React, etc.) some basic tools have to be installed.

Although there are options to install Node.js via an installer (https://nodejs.org/en/download/prebuilt-installer) or as a ZIP (https://nodejs.org/en/download/prebuilt-binaries), it is recommended to install Node.js (and the bundled npm) via NVM. This makes it easier to switch between Node.js versions and to install new versions (additionally).

NOTE: A successor tool is being worked on: “Runtime”, see https://github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows/wiki/Runtime

Installation

The following steps describe the installation of NVM and NVM controlled Node.js and NPM.

Remove previously installed Node.js and NPM

Windows

Delete Node.js directory and remove path to directory from PATH environment variable.

Debian Linux

Uninstall installed node.js + npm.

$ sudo apt list --installed nodejs
nodejs/oracular,now 20.16.0+dfsg-1ubuntu1 amd64  [Installiert,automatisch]
$ sudo apt autoremove nodejs

Install NVM

Windows

Debian Linux

To install or update nvm, you should run the install script. Download and run the script manually or use the following cURL or Wget command:

$ curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.1/install.sh | bash
...
=> Appending nvm source string to ~/.bashrc
=> Appending bash_completion source string to ~/.bashrc
=> Close and reopen your terminal to start using nvm or run the following to use it now:

export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.config/nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"  # This loads nvm
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion"  # This loads nvm bash_completion

or Wget:

$ wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.1/install.sh | bash

Running either of the above commands downloads the install script and runs it. The script clones the nvm repository to ~/.config/nvm (because $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is set to ~/.config, and attempts to add the source lines from the snippet (export ...) to the correct profile file (~/.bashrc, ~/.bash_profile, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.profile). If you find the install script is updating the wrong profile file, set the $PROFILE env var to the profile file’s path, and then rerun the installation script.

Reload changed profile file, e.g. for bash:

$ source ~/.bashrc

To verify that nvm has been installed, do:

$ command -v nvm
nvm
$ nvm -v
0.40.1

Which should output “nvm” if the installation was successful. Please note that which nvm will not work, since nvm is a sourced shell function, not an executable binary.

Usage of NVM (install and use Node.js and NPM)

NOTE for Windows: nvm-windows runs in an Admin shell. You’ll need to start powershell or Command Prompt as Administrator to use nvm-windows

Show currently used Node.js version

$ nvm current
none

Install a version of Node.js and NPM

NOTE: If you are behind a proxy, you have to set it with:

$ nvm proxy http://your_proxy:port

To install the latest Node.js version you issue the command nvm install latest (specific versions can be installed using the version number, e.g. nvm install 14.7.0). To be more conservative we install the last LTS (Long Tem Support) version:

$ nvm install --lts
Installing latest LTS version.
Downloading and installing node v22.14.0...
Downloading https://nodejs.org/dist/v22.14.0/node-v22.14.0-linux-x64.tar.xz...
############################################################################################################ 100.0%
Computing checksum with sha256sum
Checksums matched!
Now using node v22.14.0 (npm v10.9.2)
Creating default alias: default -> lts/* (-> v22.14.0)

Checking successful installation and activation:

$ nvm current
v22.14.0
$ npm -v
10.9.2
$ node -v
v22.14.0

Remotely available Node.js versions

To list all (remotely) available Node.js versions, issue:

$ nvm ls-remote
        v0.1.14
        v0.1.15
        ...
       v22.13.1   (LTS: Jod)
->     v22.14.0   (Latest LTS: Jod)
        v23.0.0
        ...
        v23.8.0
        v23.9.0

You see that the whole history of Node.js is available! The currently used version (“v22.14.0 (Latest LTS: Jod)”) is marked with an arrow. See https://nodejs.org/en/about/previous-releases for Node.js releases documentation.

Locally available Node.js versions

To list all locally available versions (should be only one, the just installed one):

$ nvm ls
->     v22.14.0
default -> lts/* (-> v22.14.0)
iojs -> N/A (default)
unstable -> N/A (default)
node -> stable (-> v22.14.0) (default)
stable -> 22.14 (-> v22.14.0) (default)
lts/* -> lts/jod (-> v22.14.0)
lts/argon -> v4.9.1 (-> N/A)
lts/boron -> v6.17.1 (-> N/A)
lts/carbon -> v8.17.0 (-> N/A)
lts/dubnium -> v10.24.1 (-> N/A)
lts/erbium -> v12.22.12 (-> N/A)
lts/fermium -> v14.21.3 (-> N/A)
lts/gallium -> v16.20.2 (-> N/A)
lts/hydrogen -> v18.20.7 (-> N/A)
lts/iron -> v20.18.3 (-> N/A)
lts/jod -> v22.14.0

Ok, a lot more information as expected. We see that our current version v22.14.0 is also aliased as default, node, stable and lts/jod.

Use a Node.js version (switch/activate)

To use a (previously installed, locally available) version of Node.js (switch to it), issue nvm use ...:

$ nvm use 22.14.0
Now using node v22.14.0 (npm v10.9.2)

NPM (Node Package Manager)

NPM takes care of downloading all dependencies of a project (similar to Maven/Gradle).

Proxy Configuration

If you are behind a proxy server, you have to configure it for NPM.

Create file .npmrc in your home directory:

proxy=http://your_proxy:port/
http_proxy=http://your_proxy:port/
http-proxy=http://your_proxy:port/
https_proxy=http://your_proxy:port/
https-proxy=http://your_proxy:port/
noproxy=localhost, ...

Package Management

Install all project’s dependencies

If a javascript project contains a package.json file, all dependencies can be downloaded with:

$ npm install

up to date, audited 1023 packages in 2s

154 packages are looking for funding
  run `npm fund` for details

11 vulnerabilities (4 moderate, 7 high)

To address issues that do not require attention, run:
  npm audit fix

To address all issues (including breaking changes), run:
  npm audit fix --force

Run `npm audit` for details.

The dependencies are downloaded to project’s subdirectory node_modules.

Install and Add a new package to project

To install a new package (= add dependency to project):

$ npm install <package-name>

Following options can be added to command:

  • –save-dev (oder -D): installs and adds the entry to the package.json file devDependencies (only development tools like testing library, not bundled for production)
  • –no-save: installs but does not add the entry to the package.json file dependencies
  • –save-optional (oder -O): installs and adds the entry to the package.json file optionalDependencies
  • –no-optional: will prevent optional dependencies from being installed

Update packages

To update all packages’ versions:

$ npm update

added 50 packages, removed 56 packages, changed 240 packages, and audited 1016 packages in 34s

162 packages are looking for funding
  run `npm fund` for details

5 moderate severity vulnerabilities

To address all issues (including breaking changes), run:
  npm audit fix --force

Run `npm audit` for details.

To update a single package:

$ npm update <package-name>

References:

 Tags:  topics development tools nodejs_npm
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