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Node.js and npm

JavaScript outside the browser, with npm for the world’s largest package registry.

Website Source code
Installed from
pacman · nodejs
Run it
node
Website
nodejs.org
Source
github.com/nodejs/node

What it is

Node.js runs JavaScript on your computer instead of in a web browser. It’s used for web servers, build tools and command-line apps, and most front-end tooling, from bundlers to linters, runs on it.

npm is Node’s package manager. It installs libraries and tools from the npm registry into your project, records them in package.json, and runs your project’s scripts.

Why it’s here

  • Web development needs it. Most JavaScript and TypeScript projects build and test with Node.
  • A huge package library. The npm registry has a package for nearly everything.
  • Tools run on it. Many developer tools install with npm install --global or run with npx.

On CoreDesktop

CoreDesktop installs Node.js and npm from pacman. It uses npm itself to install the sandbox runtime behind the AI sandbox into ~/.local, since npm’s own global folder is under /usr; you can do the same for your own global tools with npm install --global --prefix ~/.local <package>. npm’s cache in ~/.npm is left out of backups, and sandboxed AI agents can write to it and reach the npm registry. update keeps Node.js and npm current with the rest of the pacman packages.

Further reading