Installing Node.js with Homebrew on a Mac

If you're a developer or simply interested in web development, you probably know how important it is to have Node.js installed on your Mac. Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment that allows you to run JavaScript outside of a web browser. In this article, we will show you how to install Node.js using Homebrew, the popular package manager for macOS.

The Process

To start the installation process, open your terminal and type `brew install node 14`. This command will begin the installation process, which may take a few minutes depending on your internet connection. Once the download is complete, you'll see a message indicating that the formula built but was not symlinked into `/usr/local`.

Error Message

You might encounter an error message similar to this:

`/usr/local/share/doc/node is not writable. The formula built, but is not symlinked into /usr/local => Pouring node-7.7.2... Error: The `brew link` step did not complete successfully`

This error occurs because the installation process requires write permissions in `/usr/local`. To resolve this issue, you need to run the following commands:

```

echo 'export PATH='/usr/local/opt/icu4c/bin:$PATH'' > ~/.bash_profile

echo 'export PATH='/usr/local/opt/icu4c/sbin:$PATH'' > ~/.bash_profile

```

These commands will update your system's `PATH` environment variable, allowing you to access the Node.js executables.

Installation Complete

Once the installation is complete, you can verify that it was successful by typing `brew -v` in your terminal. This command will display the version of Homebrew and other installed packages.

Checking Node and NPM Version

To check the version of Node.js and npm (the package manager for JavaScript), type the following command:

```

node --version

npm --version

```

This will display the current versions of Node.js and npm installed on your system.

Uninstalling Node.js

If you need to uninstall Node.js, be aware that it's not as straightforward as installing it. You'll need to manually track down all the files created during installation and remove them. Additionally, you may need to update your system's `PATH` environment variable by removing the path of the node executable.

In this article, we showed you how to install Node.js using Homebrew on a Mac. We also covered common errors that may occur during the installation process and provided solutions to resolve them. By following these steps, you should be able to successfully install Node.js and start developing with JavaScript on your Mac.

Brew install node 14