In this post: What is NodeJS? · When would you actually use this? · How to Install NodeJs · If you need more than one version
What is NodeJS?
Node.js is an open-source, server-side JavaScript runtime environment built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine. It allows you to run JavaScript code on the server, outside of a web browser, enabling you to build scalable and high-performance network applications.
Traditionally, JavaScript was primarily used for client-side scripting in web browsers. However, Node.js extends JavaScript’s capabilities by providing a runtime environment that allows developers to execute JavaScript code on the server side. This opens up new possibilities for building web servers, command-line tools, desktop applications, and even Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Key features and advantages of Node.js include:
- Asynchronous and Event-driven: Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model, which makes it highly efficient and capable of handling a large number of concurrent connections without getting stuck waiting for responses. This allows for fast and scalable applications.
- Single-threaded, Non-blocking: Node.js operates on a single-threaded event loop, which enables it to handle concurrent requests efficiently. It uses non-blocking I/O operations, allowing the server to handle multiple requests concurrently without creating threads for each request.
- NPM (Node Package Manager): Node.js comes with a built-in package manager called npm. It is the largest ecosystem of open-source libraries and modules for JavaScript, which makes it easy to integrate third-party libraries into your projects and share your own code with others.
- Fast and Lightweight: Node.js is designed to be lightweight and efficient. Its underlying engine, V8, compiles JavaScript code to machine code before execution, resulting in high performance.
- Cross-platform: Node.js runs on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, allowing you to develop and deploy applications on different platforms.
- Full-stack JavaScript: With Node.js, you can use JavaScript both on the server side and the client side, creating a consistent development experience and code sharing between frontend and backend.
Node.js has gained widespread popularity among developers and is widely used for building web servers, RESTful APIs, real-time applications (such as chat apps and gaming servers), microservices, and more. It has a vibrant and active community that continually contributes to its growth and improvement.
Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model, capable of handling a large number of concurrent connections without getting stuck waiting for responses.
When would you actually use this?
- You’re setting up an SPFx project and it needs a specific Node version before
gulp servewill even run. npm installorgulpcommands are failing and you’re not sure if Node itself is the problem — worth ruling out before digging into package-specific issues.- You want to run a JavaScript build or automation script outside the browser — Node is what makes that possible in the first place.
How to Install NodeJs
To install Node.js on your computer, follow these steps:
- Visit the official Node.js website: https://nodejs.org
- On the homepage, you will see two versions available for download: LTS (Long-Term Support) and Current. The LTS version is recommended for most users, as it provides stability and long-term support. Click on the “LTS” button to download the latest LTS version.
- Once the installer file is downloaded, locate it on your computer and run it.
- The installer will guide you through the installation process. You can choose the default settings or customize them based on your preferences.
- Read and accept the license agreement.
- Choose the destination folder where you want Node.js to be installed. By default, it is installed in the “Program Files” directory on Windows.
- Select the components you want to install. In most cases, you can leave the default selections as they are.
- Choose whether to add Node.js to your system’s PATH variable. Adding it to the PATH allows you to run Node.js from the command line without specifying the full path to the executable. Enabling this option is recommended.
- Select the additional tasks you want to perform, such as automatically installing the necessary tools for building native modules.
- Click the “Install” button to start the installation process.
- Wait for the installation to complete. It may take a few minutes.
- Once the installation is finished, you will see a “Complete” message. You can close the installer.
- To verify that Node.js is correctly installed, open a command prompt or terminal window and type the following command:
node -v. It should display the installed version of Node.js. - Additionally, you can also check the version of the Node Package Manager (npm) by typing
npm -v.
That’s it! You have successfully installed Node.js on your computer. You can now start developing applications using Node.js and its associated packages and frameworks.
If you need more than one version
The installer above gives you exactly one Node version, system-wide. That’s fine until a second project needs a different one — an older SPFx project pinned to Node 18 alongside a newer one that requires Node 20, for instance. Reinstalling every time you switch projects isn’t a real workflow. That’s what nvm (Node Version Manager) is for — it lets multiple Node versions coexist on the same machine and switch between them per-project with one command, instead of the single global install described above. Worth setting up from the start if you expect to touch more than one JavaScript project with different tooling requirements, which is the normal case for anyone doing SPFx development across projects of different ages.
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