How To Install Angular on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Angular, a powerful and popular open-source web application framework, has become an essential tool for modern web developers. As Ubuntu 24.04, the latest long-term support release of the Ubuntu operating system, gains traction among developers, it’s crucial to understand how to set up Angular in this environment. This guide will walk you through the process of installing Angular on Ubuntu 24.04, ensuring you have a robust development environment for your next web project.

Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting your journey in web development, this article will provide you with clear, step-by-step instructions to get Angular up and running on your Ubuntu system. We’ll cover everything from system preparation to creating and serving your first Angular application, along with troubleshooting tips and best practices to enhance your development experience.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the installation process, let’s ensure you have everything you need to successfully install Angular on Ubuntu 24.04:

• A computer running Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Lunar Lobster)
• Administrative access to your system (sudo privileges)
• Basic familiarity with the Linux command line interface
• A stable internet connection for downloading necessary packages

To verify your Ubuntu version, open a terminal and run the following command:

lsb_release -a

This will display information about your Ubuntu distribution, including the version number. Ensure it shows 24.04 before proceeding.

Updating and Upgrading Ubuntu

Before installing any new software, it’s crucial to ensure your system is up-to-date. This helps prevent potential conflicts and ensures you have the latest security patches. To update your Ubuntu system, follow these steps:

1. Open a terminal window
2. Run the following commands:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt upgrade -y

The first command updates the package lists, while the second upgrades all installed packages to their latest versions. The -y flag automatically answers “yes” to any prompts during the upgrade process.

Installing Node.js and npm

Angular requires Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) to function properly. There are two primary methods to install Node.js on Ubuntu 24.04: using the default repository or using the Node Version Manager (NVM). We’ll cover both methods, allowing you to choose the one that best suits your needs.

Method 1: Installing Node.js from the Default Repository

1. Open a terminal window
2. Run the following command to install Node.js and npm:

   sudo apt install nodejs npm -y

This method is straightforward but may not always provide the latest version of Node.js.

Method 2: Installing Node.js using NVM (Recommended)

NVM allows you to install and manage multiple Node.js versions, which is particularly useful for developers working on different projects with varying Node.js requirements.

1. Install NVM by running:

   curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.1/install.sh | bash

2. Close and reopen your terminal, or run:

   source ~/.bashrc

3. Install the latest LTS version of Node.js:

   nvm install --lts

Verifying Node.js and npm Installation

After installing Node.js and npm, it’s important to verify that they are correctly installed and accessible from the command line. Run the following commands to check the installed versions:

node --version
npm --version

If the installation was successful, you should see the version numbers displayed for both Node.js and npm. If you encounter any issues, such as “command not found” errors, try closing and reopening your terminal, or logging out and back into your Ubuntu session.

Installing Angular CLI

The Angular CLI (Command Line Interface) is an essential tool for developing Angular applications. It allows you to create projects, generate application and library code, and perform various development tasks.

To install the Angular CLI globally on your system, run the following command:

npm install -g @angular/cli

The -g flag installs the CLI globally, making it accessible from any directory on your system.

After the installation is complete, verify that the Angular CLI was installed correctly by checking its version:

ng version

This command should display information about the installed Angular CLI version, as well as details about your Node.js and operating system environment.

Creating Your First Angular Project

Now that you have the Angular CLI installed, you’re ready to create your first Angular project. Follow these steps to generate a new Angular application:

1. Navigate to the directory where you want to create your project:

   cd ~/Documents

2. Use the Angular CLI to generate a new project:

   ng new my-angular-app

3. The CLI will prompt you with several questions about your project setup. For a basic setup, you can press Enter to accept the default options, or customize as needed:
   • Would you like to add Angular routing? (y/N)
   • Which stylesheet format would you like to use? (CSS, SCSS, Sass, Less)
4. Once the project is created, navigate into the project directory:

   cd my-angular-app

The Angular CLI generates a complete project structure with all necessary files and folders. Here’s a brief overview of the key components:

• src/app: Contains the main application code
• src/assets: Stores static assets like images
• src/environments: Configuration files for different environments
• angular.json: Angular workspace configuration
• package.json: Project dependencies and scripts

Serving the Angular Application

With your Angular project created, you can now serve it locally to see it in action. The Angular CLI provides a built-in development server that compiles your application and reloads it automatically when you make changes.

To serve your application, run the following command from within your project directory:

ng serve

By default, this will make your application available at http://localhost:4200/. Open this URL in your web browser to see your Angular application running.

If you want to make the application accessible from other devices on your network, you can use the following command instead:

ng serve --host 0.0.0.0

This allows you to access the application using your computer’s IP address from any device on the same network.

As you make changes to your application’s source files, the development server will automatically recompile and reload your application, allowing you to see your changes in real-time.

Building the Angular Application for Production

When you’re ready to deploy your Angular application to a production environment, you’ll need to build it. The Angular CLI provides a command to create a production-ready build of your application:

ng build --prod

This command compiles your application and creates optimized files for production use. The output is stored in the dist/ folder within your project directory.

The production build process includes several optimizations:

• Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation
• Minification of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files
• Tree-shaking to remove unused code
• Generation of source maps for debugging

After building your application, you can deploy the contents of the dist/ folder to your web server or hosting platform of choice.

Managing Angular Versions

As Angular evolves, new versions are released with improvements and new features. It’s important to keep your Angular CLI and projects up-to-date to take advantage of these enhancements and ensure compatibility with the latest libraries.

Updating Angular CLI

To update the Angular CLI to the latest version, run:

npm uninstall -g @angular/cli
npm cache clean --force
npm install -g @angular/cli@latest

Updating Existing Angular Projects

To update an existing Angular project:

1. Navigate to your project directory
2. Run the update command:

   ng update @angular/cli @angular/core

This command will update your project’s Angular dependencies to their latest compatible versions.

Troubleshooting Common Installation Issues

While installing Angular on Ubuntu 24.04 is generally straightforward, you may encounter some issues. Here are solutions to common problems:

Permission Errors

If you encounter permission errors when installing packages globally, avoid using sudo with npm. Instead, configure npm to install global packages in your home directory:

mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.profile
source ~/.profile

Dependency Conflicts

If you face dependency conflicts, try clearing the npm cache and reinstalling:

npm cache clean --force
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

Version Incompatibilities

Ensure that your Node.js version is compatible with the Angular version you’re trying to install. Check the Angular documentation for version compatibility information.

Best Practices for Angular Development on Ubuntu

To enhance your Angular development experience on Ubuntu 24.04, consider the following best practices:

IDE Recommendations

Use a powerful IDE like Visual Studio Code, which offers excellent support for Angular development through extensions like Angular Language Service and Angular Snippets.

Version Control with Git

Utilize Git for version control. Initialize a Git repository in your project directory and commit your changes regularly:

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

Using Angular Schematics

Take advantage of Angular schematics to generate components, services, and other code artifacts consistently:

ng generate component my-component
ng generate service my-service

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Angular. Thanks for using this tutorial to install the latest version of Angular on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official Angular website.