[2 min installs] Node.js on Ubuntu

Here is how to install Node.js and npm package manager on Ubuntu 20.04 in under 2 minutes:

Step 1 — Update package index

Before the actual installation process, update the package index:

$ sudo apt update

apt update downloads the package lists from the repositories and updates them to get information on the newest versions of packages and their dependencies. It will do this for all repositories and PPAs.

Step 2 — Install Node.js

Default Ubuntu repositories include Node.js (v10.19 for Ubuntu 20.04), so we can install Node.js via apt:

$ sudo apt install -y nodejs

Step 3 — Install NPM

Usually, Node.js comes with npm, however, if you install it using Ubuntu default repositories, you will be required to install npm manually:

$ sudo apt install npm

That’s it

Node.js and npm package manager is now installed on your system. To see if everything worked as planned type the following command:

node -v && npm -v

Output:
v16.13.2
8.5.0

Article by

Jenda Tovarys

Jenda leads Growth at Better Stack. For the past 5 years, Jenda has been writing about exciting learnings from working with hundreds of developers across the world. When he's not spreading the word about the amazing software built at Better Stack, he enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, and playing tennis.

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