Installing node.js in WSL 2

( NOTE : Although this tutorial demonstrates WSL 2/Ubuntu, this installation is primarily for Linux) In this tutorial, we will use node version manager or nvm to install and manage node versions. nvm certainly has its advantages as it allows you to easily install and manage multiple node versions on your system. This also means you can easily switch node and npm versions with a single command and that comes in handy.

If you don't already have it, install curl

sudo apt-get install curl


curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.38.0/install.sh | bash

( Note: instead of v0.38.0 Use the latest version of nvm from GitHub)

Verify your installation using

command -v nvm

(If you get an error command not found, restart your shell and try again.)

Let's install the LTS and latest stable version of Nodejs, you can also choose one of those if you prefer, but believe me, it's super simple to switch between different node versions using nvm.

Install the LTS version

nvm install --lts

Install the latest version

nvm install node

You can check all the installed versions using the following command

nvm ls

Check the version of node and npm you are running:

node --version
npm --version

You can install a specific version of node:

nvm install 14.17.0

To use a specific node version:

nvm use 14.17.0
# lts version
nvm use --lts
# latest stable version
nvm use node

Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @cryptus_neoxys and connect with me on LinkedIn.

Refs & Resources

Microsoft Docs

nvm-sh/nvm