nodesource/distributions

★ 13,839ShellAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 1/5Setup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((NodeSource Distros))
    Purpose
      Current Node.js versions
      Bypass outdated repos
    Supported systems
      Ubuntu and Debian
      Red Hat and CentOS
    How it works
      Shell script setup
      Adds apt or yum repo
      Uses native package manager
    Maintained by
      NodeSource company
      Enterprise Node.js focus

mindmap root((NodeSource Distros)) Purpose Current Node.js versions Bypass outdated repos Supported systems Ubuntu and Debian Red Hat and CentOS How it works Shell script setup Adds apt or yum repo Uses native package manager Maintained by NodeSource company Enterprise Node.js focus

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Install the latest stable or LTS version of Node.js on an Ubuntu or Debian server using the NodeSource apt repository.

USE CASE 2

Set up a specific Node.js version on a Red Hat or CentOS server using yum instead of the outdated system package.

USE CASE 3

Add NodeSource's repository to a Linux system so future Node.js updates install automatically through the native package manager.

USE CASE 4

Automate Node.js installation in a Dockerfile or server provisioning script using the NodeSource shell scripts.

Tech stack

ShellBashaptyum

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

No license information is mentioned in the explanation.

In plain English

This repository provides shell scripts for installing Node.js on Linux systems using packages maintained by NodeSource. Node.js is a JavaScript runtime that lets you run JavaScript code outside a web browser, commonly used for building web servers, APIs, and command-line tools. The purpose of the project is to make it easy to get a specific, up-to-date version of Node.js onto a Linux machine. Linux distribution package managers like apt (used on Ubuntu and Debian) and yum (used on Red Hat and CentOS) often ship Node.js versions that are outdated by months or years. NodeSource maintains their own package repositories with current Node.js releases, and this project contains the scripts and configuration needed to add those repositories to a system and install from them. The repository name and description reference binary distributions, meaning pre-compiled Node.js binaries packaged for various Linux distributions rather than source code you compile yourself. A developer or system administrator would typically run one of the provided shell scripts, which adds the NodeSource repository to the system and then uses the native package manager to install Node.js. The shell-based approach means the scripts integrate with standard Linux tooling rather than introducing a separate installer. The project is maintained by NodeSource, a company focused on enterprise Node.js support. The current public README is minimal and points to a separate developer documentation file within the repository for the full setup and usage instructions. The project has nearly 14,000 stars on GitHub, indicating it is widely used as a standard reference for Node.js installation on Linux.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Show me the shell commands from nodesource/distributions to install Node.js 20 LTS on Ubuntu 22.04 using the NodeSource apt repository.

Prompt 2

I'm setting up a new CentOS server and need Node.js 18. Give me the NodeSource yum setup commands and explain what each step does.

Prompt 3

Add NodeSource's Node.js installation to my Dockerfile so the image always gets a specific LTS version when built.

Prompt 4

My server has an outdated Node.js from the default apt repo. How do I switch to the NodeSource repository and upgrade without breaking other packages?

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