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Step 1 of 7 · about 20 min

Install Node

Node is JavaScript that runs outside a browser. Every tool later in this course sits on top of it, so this is the foundation and not an optional extra.

Take the kind path first. Go to nodejs.org (opens in a new tab), click the big button marked LTS, and open the .pkg file that downloads. Double click it, then click through the installer the way you would any other Mac app. LTS stands for long term support, which is the boring, dependable release. Boring is what you want holding up your tools.

Ask Node and npm which versions you have. Two numbers means success.

Terminal
node -vnpm -v

Why

Node lets you run JavaScript outside the browser, and npm is the tool that installs the packages you will lean on later. If both print a version, the rest of the course has a floor to stand on.