Install Node.js on CentOS 7 | Hostvento Knowledge Base

Note: CentOS 7 reached its end of life in June 2024 and gets no more updates. Recent Node.js versions also need a newer glibc than CentOS 7 offers, so only old Node.js versions run there. For new servers use AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux.

What Node.js is

Node.js runs JavaScript on the server. Why people choose it:

High performance. An event-driven, non-blocking design.
Scalability. It handles many connections at once.
Fast development. A huge ecosystem of modules.
npm. The largest package registry.
A strong community.
Cross-platform.

Method 1: The NodeSource repository

Add the repository for the major version you want (for CentOS 7 the newest that works is Node.js 16):

curl -fsSL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_16.x | sudo bash -

Install Node.js and npm:

sudo yum install -y nodejs

Method 2: The EPEL repository

Make sure EPEL is on:

sudo yum install epel-release

Install Node.js and npm:

sudo yum install -y nodejs npm

The version from EPEL is old.

Method 3: Build from source

Install the build tools:

sudo yum install -y gcc-c++ make

Download the source tarball from nodejs.org/dist, extract it, and build:

tar -xzf node-v16.x.x.tar.gz
cd node-v16.x.x
./configure
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install

This takes a long time and needs a modern compiler, which CentOS 7 does not have by default.

Check the install

node -v
npm -v

Quick recap

Use NodeSource or EPEL with yum install nodejs.
Check with node -v.
Move to a supported OS for new projects.