How To Install Node.js on Ubuntu 18.04 / Ubuntu 16.04 & Linux Mint 19

Node.js is a free and open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment for developing web applications and network tools, built on Google’s V8 JavaScript engine.

Node.js lets you use JavaScript for server-side scripting—running scripts server-side to create dynamic web page contents before the page is sent to the user’s web browser. It has an event-driven architecture capable of asynchronous I/O, which makes Node.js fast and scalable.

Ryan Dahl developed Node.js in 2009.

Here, we will see how to install Node.js on Ubuntu 18.04 / Ubuntu 16.04 & Linux Mint 19.

Node.js Versions

There are two versions of Node.js available for the users.

• v12.x (Long Term Supported)
• v14.x (Current Latest Version)

Prerequisites

Update the repository index.

sudo apt update

Install build tools if you plan to compile and install native addons from npm.

sudo apt install -y build-essential curl

Add Node.js PPA

NodeSource maintains Node.js binary packages for Ubuntu. You can go for any one of the Node.js version to install it on your machine.

Node.js 12.x (LTS)

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_12.x | sudo -E bash -

Node.js 13.x (Current Version)

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_13.x | sudo -E bash -

Install Node.js

Once after adding the PPA on your machine, install the Node.js by using the following command. NPM (Node Package Manager) will also be installed along with Node.js.

sudo apt install -y nodejs

Check the version of Node.js and NPM using the following command. The following output is for your information only.

nodejs -v

Output:

v12.16.1

NPM version.

npm -v

Output:

6.13.4

Install Yarm Package Manager

To install the Yarn package manager, run:

curl -sL https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/pubkey.gpg | sudo apt-key add -

echo "deb https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/ stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yarn.list

sudo apt update

sudo apt install -y yarn

Create Test Web Server

To test the Node.js installation, we will create a test web server and run with Node.js.

Let’s create a file called web_server.js.

nano web_server.js

Place the below content into the web_server.js file.

const http = require('http');
const port = 8080;
const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
   res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain'});
   res.end('Hello World\n');
});
server.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Node.js server listening on port ${port}`);
});

Now, start the web server with Node.js.

nodejs --inspect web_server.js

You should get the following message on your terminal.

Debugger listening on ws://127.0.0.1:9229/9a55cde2-814e-4b61-baef-4878d46dca63
For help see https://nodejs.org/en/docs/inspector
Node.js server listening on port 8080

This message confirms the web server has been started and listening on port 8080.

Verify Node.js Installation

Open a browser and go to the below address.

You should get the web page like below.

Conclusion

That’s All. You have successfully installed Node.js on Ubuntu 18.04 / Ubuntu 16.04 & Linux Mint 19.