How To Install Node.js on Debian 8

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install and configure Node.js on Debian 8 server. For those of you who didn’t know, Node.js is a Javascript platform for programming that enables users to build network applications very quickly. If you are using Javascript on both the front-end and the back-end, it means your development can be much more consistent and be designed within the same system.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of Node.js on a Debian 8 (Jessie) server.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Debian 8.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• An active internet connection. You’ll need an internet connection to download the necessary packages and dependencies for Node.js.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Node.js on Debian 8 Jessie

Step 1. Before we install any software, it’s important to make sure your system is up to date by running the following apt-get commands in the terminal:

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade

Step 2. Installing Node.js on Debian 8 Jessie.

First, you need to node.js PPA in our system provides by Node.js official website:

### PPA for Node.js v7.x ###
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_7.x | bash -
### PPA for Node.js v6.x ###
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_6.x | bash -
### PPA for Node.js v5.x ###
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_5.x | bash -

The Node.js package contains the Node.js binary as well as npm, so you don’t need to install npm separately. However, in order for some npm packages to work (such as those that require compiling code from source), you will need to install the build-essential package:

apt-get install -y build-essential

After adding the required PPA file, let’s install the Nodejs package. NPM will also be installed with node.js. This command will also install many other dependent packages on your system:

apt-get install -y nodejs

Verify the current version of Node.js installed:

node -v

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Node.js. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the latest version of Node.js on the Debian 8 Jessie server. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you to check the official Node.js website.

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