In today's rapidly evolving world of application development, Node.js and NPM (Node Package Manager) play a pivotal role. Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform, back-end JavaScript runtime environment that runs on the V8 engine, enabling developers to write server-side applications in JavaScript. NPM, shipped with Node.js, is the largest ecosystem of freely available JavaScript libraries (packages). This article will guide you through the process of installing Node.js and NPM on a server step by step.

Preparation

Before you start the installation, ensure that you have access to the server with superuser (root) privileges. Also, it's important that your server runs on a supported operating system (Linux, macOS, Windows). This guide will focus on installing on a Linux server, which is most popular among developers.

Step 1: System Update

Before installing Node.js and NPM, it's recommended to update your system's packages and dependencies to avoid any conflicts. On a Linux server, this can be achieved by running the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2: Installing Node.js

Node.js can be installed on Linux servers in several ways. The most common method is using the package manager available in your distribution. For Debian and Ubuntu, you can install Node.js as follows:

1. Adding the official Node.js repository to your system:

   curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_14.x | sudo -E bash -
   ​

   Note: Replace setup_14.x with the version of Node.js you wish to install.

2. Subsequent installation of Node.js:

   sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
   ​

 

Step 3: Verification of Installation

After installation, you can verify whether Node.js and NPM were successfully installed by running the following commands:

node -v
npm -v

The output should display the versions of Node.js and NPM, confirming their successful installation.

Step 4: NPM Configuration and Package Management

NPM allows you to manage libraries and dependencies for your project. To initialize a new project and create a package.json file containing project metadata, run:

npm init

This command will initiate an interactive wizard to guide you through setting up the project.

To install packages using NPM, use the command:

npm install <package_name>

Installing Node.js and NPM on a server is a crucial step in modern application and API development. By following this guide, you can easily set up the environment for your project. With an updated system, properly installed Node.js and NPM, and basic knowledge of package management, you are now ready for application development.