How to install NodeJS in Amazon Linux 2

I prefer to run any workloads in a container. However, I always had challenges in using containers in small virtual machines due to CPU & Memory limitations. Recently I spun up an EC2 instance and I had to install NodeJS to run a simple application. Below are the steps I used.

nvm-sh/nvm: Node Version Manager – POSIX-compliant bash script to manage multiple active node.js versions (github.com)

NVM is used to install and manage multiple versions of Node JS.

Step 1: Install NVM

$ curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.38.0/install.sh | bash
  % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed   Time    Time     Time  Current
                                 Dload  Upload   Total   Spent    Left  Speed
100 14926  100 14926    0     0   136k      0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:--  134k
=> Downloading nvm as script to '/home/ec2-user/.nvm'

=> Appending nvm source string to /home/ec2-user/.bashrc
=> Appending bash_completion source string to /home/ec2-user/.bashrc
=> Close and reopen your terminal to start using nvm or run the following to use it now:

export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"  # This loads nvm
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion"  # This loads nvm bash_completion

Step 2: Verify NVM is installed

Confirm NVM related script is added to the bashrc file.

$ cat /home/ec2-user/.bashrc
# .bashrc

.
.
.
.

export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"  # This loads nvm
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion"  # This loads nvm bash_completion

Confirm nvm is available in a new terminal.

$ nvm ls
            N/A
iojs -> N/A (default)
node -> stable (-> N/A) (default)
unstable -> N/A (default)

Step 3: Install Node Versions (14.x)

$ nvm install 14
Downloading and installing node v14.17.3...
Downloading https://nodejs.org/dist/v14.17.3/node-v14.17.3-linux-x64.tar.xz...
############################################################################################################################################################ 100.0%
Computing checksum with sha256sum
Checksums matched!
Now using node v14.17.3 (npm v6.14.13)
Creating default alias: default -> 14 (-> v14.17.3)
$ 

$ nvm install 16
Downloading and installing node v16.4.2...
Downloading https://nodejs.org/dist/v16.4.2/node-v16.4.2-linux-x64.tar.xz...
############################################################################################################################################################ 100.0%
Computing checksum with sha256sum
Checksums matched!
Now using node v16.4.2 (npm v7.18.1)
$

Check NodeJS versions

$ nvm ls
       v14.17.3
->      v16.4.2
default -> 14 (-> v14.17.3)
iojs -> N/A (default)
unstable -> N/A (default)
node -> stable (-> v16.4.2) (default)
stable -> 16.4 (-> v16.4.2) (default)
lts/* -> lts/fermium (-> v14.17.3)
lts/argon -> v4.9.1 (-> N/A)
lts/boron -> v6.17.1 (-> N/A)
lts/carbon -> v8.17.0 (-> N/A)
lts/dubnium -> v10.24.1 (-> N/A)
lts/erbium -> v12.22.3 (-> N/A)
lts/fermium -> v14.17.3
$ 

Step 4: Use NodeJS

$ nvm use node 14
Now using node v14.17.3 (npm v6.14.13)


$ node --version
v14.17.3 

]$ npm --version
6.14.13

$ nvm use node 16
Now using node v16.4.2 (npm v7.18.1)



$ node --version
v16.4.2



$ npm --version
7.18.1