Node.js
Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment combined with useful libraries. It uses Google's V8 engine to execute code outside of the browser. Due to its event-driven, non-blocking I/O model, it is suitable for real-time web applications.
Installation
Install the nodejs package. There are LTS releases, too:
- nodejs-lts-hydrogen - For 18.X version
- nodejs-lts-gallium - For 16.X version
- nodejs-lts-fermium - For 14.X version
Alternate installations
It is not uncommon to need or desire to work in different versions of nodejs. A preferred method among node users is to use NVM (Node Version Manager). nvmAUR allows for cheap and easy alternative installs.
You can set it up by adding this to your shell's startup file:
# Set up Node Version Manager source /usr/share/nvm/init-nvm.sh
Usage is well documented on the project's GitHub but is as simple as:
$ nvm install 8.0 Downloading and installing node v8.0.0... [..] $ nvm use 8.0 Now using node v8.0.0 (npm v5.0.0)
If you decide to use nvmAUR, previously it was suggested to use nodejs-fake
package from AUR. Which is now deleted.
Suggested way is to use --assume-installed nodejs=<version>
, as per the manual pacman(8) § TRANSACTION OPTIONS (APPLY TO -S, -R AND -U).
If you want to run `nvm use` automatically every time there is a .nvmrc file on the directory, add this in ~/.bashrc
Node Packaged Modules
npm is the official package manager for node.js. It can be installed with the npm package.
Installing packages
Any package can be installed using:
$ npm install packageName
This command installs the package in the current directory under and executables under .
For a system-wide installation global switch can be used:
# npm -g install packageName
By default this command installs the package under and requires root privileges to do so.
Allow user-wide installations
To allow global package installations for the current user, set the npm_config_prefix
environment variable. This is used by both npm and yarn.
~/.profile
PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" export npm_config_prefix="$HOME/.local"
Re-login or source to update changes.
You can also specify the parameter for . However, this is not recommended, since you will need to add it every time you install a global package.
$ npm -g install packageName --prefix ~/.local
Another option is to set field in . This achieves the same effect as using in one's :
$ npm set prefix="$HOME/.local"
Updating packages
Updating packages is as simple as
$ npm update packageName
For the case of globally installed packages ()
# npm update -g packageName
Updating all packages
However, sometimes you may just wish to update all packages, either locally or globally. Leaving off the packageName npm
will attempt to update all packages
$ npm update
or add the flag to update globally installed packages
# npm update -g
Removing packages
To remove a package installed with the switch simply use:
# npm -g uninstall packageName
to remove a local package drop the switch and run:
$ npm uninstall packageName
Listing packages
To show a tree view of the installed globally packages use:
$ npm -g list
This tree is often quite deep. To only display the top level packages use:
$ npm list --depth=0
To display obsolete packages that may need to be updated:
$ npm outdated
Managing packages with pacman
Some node.js packages can be found in Arch User Repository with the name nodejs-packageName
.
Troubleshooting
npm help does not display documentation
Using may not display the documentation for topic. Instead, use . For example:
$ npm help install Top hits for "install" ... $ man npm-install ... shows the documentation for the npm install subcommand
This is a bug with Arch's npm package.
node-gyp errors
In case of errors like , option might help:
# npm install --unsafe-perm -g node-inspector
Cannot find module ... errors
Since npm 5.x.x. package-lock.json file is generated along with the package.json file. Conflictions may arise when the two files refer to different package versions. A temporary method to solving this problem has been:
$ rm package-lock.json $ npm install
However, fixes were made after npm 5.1.0 or above. For further information, see: missing dependencies
Additional resources
For further information on Node.js and the use of its official package manager NPM you may wish to consult the following external resources
- Node.js documentation
- NPM documentation
- IRC channel #node.js on Libera Chat