How to install a Specific Version of Node on Ubuntu Server
Install nodejs 6
Get your nodejs tarball from node site e.g. node-v6.11.3-linux-x64.tar.gz from v6.11.3
wget https://nodejs.org/dist/v6.11.3/node-v6.11.3-linux-x64.tar.gz
Unpack provided archive files to /opt/nodejs
mkdir -p /opt/nodejs
tar -xvzf node-v6.11.3-linux-x64.tar.gz -C /opt/nodejs/
Create link to current node version
cd /opt/nodejs
mv node-v6.11.3-linux-x64 6.11.3
ln -s 6.11.3 current
Create link to current node binary
ln -s /opt/nodejs/current/bin/node /bin/node
Verify Node version
node -v
v6.11.3
Node.js is available as a snap package in all currently supported versions of Ubuntu. Specific to Node.js, developers can choose from one or more of the currently supported releases and get regular automatic updates directly from NodeSource. Node.js versions 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14 are currently available, with the Snap Store being updated within hours or minutes of a Node.js release.
Node can be installed with a single command, for example:
sudo snap install node --classic --channel 11/stable
The node snap can be accessed by the command node, for example:
$ node -v v11.5.0
An up-to-date version of npm will installed as part of the node snap. npm should be run outside of the node repl, in your normal shell. After installing the node snap run the following command to enable npm update checking:
sudo chown -R $USER:$(id -gn $USER) /home/your-username/.config
Replace your-username in the above command with your own username. Then run npm -v to check if the version of npm is up-to-date. As an example I checked that npm was up-to-date, checked the version of an already installed package named yarn with the command npm list yarn and then updated the existing yarn package to the latest version with the command npm update yarn
Users can switch between versions of Node.js at any time without needing to involve additional tools like nvm (Node Version Manager), for example:
sudo snap refresh node --channel=10/stable
Users can test bleeding-edge versions of Node.js that can be installed from the latest edge channel which is currently tracking Node.js version 12 by switching with:
sudo snap switch node --edge
This approach is only recommended for those users who are willing to participate in testing and bug reporting upstream.
Node.js LTS Schedule
Release LTS Status Codename LTS Start Maintenance Start Maintenance End 6.x Active Boron 2016-10-18 April 2018 April 2019 7.x No LTS 8.x Active Carbon 2017-10-31 April 2019 December 2019 9.x No LTS 10.x Active Dubnium October 2018 April 2020 April 2021 11.x No LTS 2019-04-01 2019-06-30 12.x 2019-10-22 2021-04-01 2022-04-01 13.x No LTS 2020-04-20 2020-06-01 14.x Current Fermium 2020-10-20 2021-10-20 2023-04-30