Node.js in 3 commands

A few short years ago [1] when I started to explore Node.js [2], I remember the installation on my MacBook Pro required downloading the source, compiling and installing it, and then updating paths. And then you had to install NPM [3].

Since then, Node [4]’s installation has been come tremendously easy and NPM is even bundled with Node [5]. And yet, installing Node (and keeping up w/its rapid release schedule) is even easier with a nifty tool: Node Version Manager [6].

With Node Version Manager (or nvm [7]) you can be up and running with Node in 3 easy commands.

Step 1: Download and install nvm.

downloading nvm1
curl https://raw.github.com/creationix/nvm/master/install.sh [8] | sh


Step 2: Reload your shell.

reloading .bash_profile1
source .bash_profile


Step 2.5: Obtain a list of available node versions to install.

listing available node versions1
nvm ls-remote


Step 3: Install your desired version of node.

installing node version 0.10.01
nvm install v0.10.0


After that’s done, execute a node -v to verify. Now wasn’t that easy? You bet!