How to Install Node.js

This was the first in a series of posts leading up to Node.js Knockout on how to use node.js.

I have been given permission to repost the articles from the contest here (in wheat format) for general consumption. Expect more to come.

In this post we detail how to install node on Mac, Ubuntu, and Windows.

Mac

If you're using the excellent homebrew package manager, you can install node with one command: brew install node.

Otherwise, follow the below steps:

1. Install Xcode.


2. Install git.


3. Run the following commands:

darwin_setup.sh

git clone git://github.com/ry/node.git

cd node./configure

make

sudo make install

You can check it worked with a simple Hello, World! example.

Ubuntu

1. Install the dependencies:
   • sudo apt-get install g++ curl libssl-dev apache2-utils
   
   
   • sudo apt-get install git-core
   
   


2. Run the following commands:

ubuntu_setup.sh

git clone git://github.com/ry/node.git

cd node./configure

make

sudo make install

You can check it worked with a simple Hello, World! example.

Thanks to code-diesel for the Ubuntu dependencies.

Windows

Currently, you must use cygwin to install node. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Install cygwin.


2. Use setup.exe in the cygwin folder to install the following packages:
   • devel → openssl
   
   
   • devel → g++-gcc
   
   
   • devel → make
   
   
   • python → python
   
   
   • devel → git
   
   


3. Open the cygwin command line with Start > Cygwin > Cygwin Bash Shell.


4. Run the below commands to download and build node.

cygwin_setup.sh

git clone git://github.com/ry/node.git

cd node./configure

make

sudo make install

For more details, including information on troubleshooting, please see the GitHub wiki page.

Hello Node.js!

Here's a quick program to make sure everything is up and running correctly:

hello_node.js

var http = require('http');

http.createServer(function (req, res) {

  res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain'});

  res.end('Hello Node.js\n');

}).listen(8124, "127.0.0.1");

console.log('Server running at http://127.0.0.1:8124/');

Run the code with the node command line utility:

> node hello_node.jsServer running at http://127.0.0.1:8124/