Never install node.js directly. Instead, use the [Node Version Manager](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm): ```shell curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.3/install.sh | bash ``` Now, install node: ```shell nvm install node # installs the latest version ``` ```shell nvm install --lts # installs the latest LTS version ``` To use node in the shell: ```shell nvm use node ``` With node installed, to automatically pick a node version: Create a `.nvmrc` file in the project root with either of: - `echo node > .nvmrc` for the latest node version - `echo "lts/*" > .nvmrc` for the latest LTS node version - `echo 14.17.0 > .nvmrc` to use that specific node version ## npm setup ```shell nvm install-latest-npm ```