Install Node.js 24 and npm on Ubuntu 26.04

Node.js is an open-source runtime environment that enables to execute JavaScript code on the server without a browser. It is built on the Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. Node.js is often used for developing web applications. NPM is a package manager for Node.js that enables to install various packages from remote registry.

Node.js 24 is a long-term support (LTS) release. This release has various updates. For example, the V8 JavaScript engine has been updated to 13.6. This tutorial demonstrates how to install Node.js 24 and npm on Ubuntu 26.04.

Install Node.js and npm

NodeSource repository maintains Node.js 24 binary distributions. So add this repository in your system by using the following command:

curl -sSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | sudo bash -

Install Node.js:

sudo apt install -y nodejs

During installation, npm and Corepack are also installed automatically. There is no need to install npm or Corepack separately, as they come bundled with Node.js. The installation can be verified by checking the versions of Node.js, npm, and Corepack:

node --version

npm --version

corepack --version

Testing Node.js

Create a new main.js file:

nano main.js

Add the following a line of code:

console.log('Hello world');

Test a program with node command:

node main.js

Uninstall Node.js and npm

Disable Corepack by removing the package manager shims (e.g., Yarn and pnpm) if they are enabled:

sudo corepack disable

Remove Node.js and related dependencies by running the following command:

sudo apt purge --autoremove -y nodejs

Remove the GPG key and repository:

sudo rm -rf /usr/share/keyrings/nodesource.gpg \
  /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.sources \
  /etc/apt/preferences.d/{nodejs,nsolid}

Delete the Node.js cache:

rm -rf ~/.cache/node

Install older versions

Node.js 22 is an older LTS version that is still supported. It can be installed by adding the following NodeSource repository:

curl -sSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo bash -