About Node.js
Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 engine. It lets you run JavaScript outside the browser and is the foundation of most front-end tooling (bundlers, transpilers) as well as back-end tooling (HTTP servers, APIs). The installation provides three key executables: node (the runtime), npm (the package manager) and npx (a launcher for package binaries). corepack shipped through Node 24 to enable pnpm and yarn; since Node 25, install it separately via npm install -g corepack.
Versions and support policy
Node.js follows a strict release cycle. Even-numbered versions become LTS (Long Term Support) releases — for example 22, 24, 26 — recommended for production. Odd-numbered versions are stable but short-lived, never promoted to LTS, and should be avoided in long-lived production environments. For professional projects, always install the latest LTS, and consider a version manager (nvm, fnm, or Volta) if you need to juggle several versions across projects.
Common pitfalls
Packages shipped by the system repositories of Linux distributions are often well behind the official LTS releases. Prefer the NodeSource repository, a version manager, or the official binary. On Windows and macOS alike, make sure node and npm share the same installation after an update to avoid path conflicts.