In this post, we'll be looking at three different ways to install Node.js and its package manager, Node Package Manager, on macOS.  We will discuss how to install Node.js using mac-native package installer, homebrew, a 3rd party installer, Node Version Manager and how to hop between different Node.js versions using Node Version Manager

A simple guide on how to set up Node.js development environment on macOS.

Node.js is an open-source runtime environment, which allows developers to create networked applications and web-servers in JavaScript. The main thing to remember is that Node.js is 

, which means it can support hundreds of simultaneous calls in the event loop. Basically, this means that a Node-based server does not wait for an API to return data. You can see a great example of asynchronous programming in Node.js 

Node.js therefore shines in building fast, data-intensive, and real-time network applications, such as Uber and PayPal. However, you can also use Node.js to build your private blockchain.

When using Node.js, you’ll also need to use Node Package Manager, or 

 is a package management framework for Node.js. It provides a command line utility tool to install Node.js libraries and manage their versions and dependencies. If you’ve ever used other programming languages, such as Ruby or Python, then you’ll notice that 

In this post, we'll learn how to install Node.js and Node Package Manager (NPM) in a macOS environment.

By the end of this tutorial you will have a good grasp on the following:

This post is intended for complete beginners to JavaScript or for folks switching from Ruby or Python to JavaScript for their backend production. It doesn’t assume any background knowledge of JavaScript (although it doesn’t hurt to have some!). However, this tutorial will cover everything you need to know and hopefully will get you up to speed in no time!

To check whether you already have Node installed, open new 

If you have Node.js installed, it should output Node’s version. If you don’t, you’ll see one of the two messages, depending on whether you use 

That means that the command you are trying to run is not installed. But worry not, there are several ways to install Node.js and NPM:

1) Using the macOS installer available from the Node.js website

 where you can download a pre-built installer for your mac platform.

There are two types of Node.js releases: 

. LTS releases are more polished and bug-free and will suffice for the majority of everyday users. Current releases are typically more experimental and contain the latest features, which may not be completely finished and could occasionally crash. You can switch between LTS and current versions by highlighting the field in the first tab. Again, the LTS version is recommended for most users. Therefore, if the LTS tab is highlighted in dark green, you can simply click on the macOS Installer option, which will download the 

This installer will also automatically install NPM for you. Just follow these steps:

 or some other version of the software that's just been installed.

Homebrew is arguably the most popular package manager for macOS and makes installing Node.js straightforward. Let's check whether you have Homebrew installed:

If Homebrew is installed on your mac, you should see its version, for example, 

. If not, you can install Homebrew with the following command:

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/
Homebrew/install/master/install)"

Assuming that Homebrew is already installed, type:

While using Homebrew for Node.js installation is very easy, it comes with one disadvantage:

Unfortunately, Homebrew has a habit of installing only the latest version of Node.js.

This could be a problem because sometimes applications require a certain version of Node.js to work. Having the flexibility of using specific versions can be an asset. To fix this problem, the best option to install Node.js is via 

 to install and update Node.js (recommended)

, is a bash script to manage multiple active Node.js versions. It is easy to run with the following steps:

Congratulations, you have now successfully installed and understood the ins and outs of Node.js and NPM. 

I’ve helped you to explore some very basic commands, but please don’t stop here. It’s just the beginning and it’s up to you where this journey will take you!

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