How to install latest version of Node.js

While installing node.js from the repository it often installs old version of the software. It’s best to update the software repository using-

$ sudo apt-get update

If the above commands does not provide you with the latest software then use-

$ curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_10.x | sudo -E bash

Now install Node.js-

$ sudo apt-get install nodejs
$ check version - nodejs -v

This will install latest stable version of Node.js.

Now install npm.

NPM is node package manager for Node.js NPM installs a Node.js modules from the repository and also create package.json file to maintain the list of modules installed in the application. This is very similar to using composer to install Drupal modules.

$ sudo apt-get install npm

Running your first code for testing

Create a node.js file- vi nodejstest.js

Add the following code-

var http = require('http');
http.createServer(function (req, res) {
res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain'});
res.end('Hello World\n');
}).listen(3000, "127.0.0.1");
console.log('Server running at http://127.0.0.1:3000/');

In the shell execute the file as- $ nodejs nodejstest.js
You should see an output on the shell-
Server running at http://127.0.0.1:3000/

Now you can open the browser and see the output-
http://127.0.0.1:3000/ or http://localhost:3000/