Install Node.js & npm

Install Node.js LTS using nvm (recommended) or the official installer, and confirm npm is working.

Install Node.js & npm

Almost every tool in this course (SAPUI5, CAP Node.js, CF CLI) depends on Node.js.

Option A — nvm (recommended, lets you switch versions easily)

macOS / Linux

# Install nvm
# Install nvm (always installs the latest stable release)
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/HEAD/install.sh | bash

# Reload your shell
source ~/.bashrc   # or ~/.zshrc on macOS

# Install the latest LTS
nvm install --lts

# Set it as default
nvm alias default node

Windows — use nvm-windows

Download the installer from github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows/releases, then:

nvm install lts
nvm use lts

Option B — Official installer

Go to nodejs.org and download the LTS version for your OS. Run the installer and accept defaults.

Verify

node --version   # should print v20.x.x (Maintenance LTS) or v22.x.x (Active LTS)
npm --version    # should print 10.x.x or higher

Update npm to latest

npm install -g npm@latest

Install useful global packages you will need later

npm install -g @sap/cds-dk @ui5/cli mbt

These three packages cover CAP development, SAPUI5 tooling, and MTA build. Installing them now saves time in later modules.

Troubleshoot: EACCES permission denied on macOS/Linux

This happens when npm tries to write to a system folder. Fix with nvm (Option A) — it installs Node in your home directory so no sudo is ever needed.