How to Install Node.js and NPM on WSL — Step-by-Step Guide

If you code on Windows without WSL, you are fighting your tools. Paths with backslashes, file watchers that miss changes, build scripts written for Linux that fail in strange ways, and permission errors that no tutorial mentions because the tutorial’s author was on a Mac.

WSL gives you a real Linux environment inside Windows. This guide installs Node.js and npm there properly, using Node Version Manager, which is what most professional teams use. Every command is printed in full, along with the one mistake that quietly makes everything slow.

Why Bother With WSL at All

Because almost every tutorial, Docker image, deployment server and open-source build script in the world assumes Linux. Running Node directly on Windows means translating all of that, and the translation leaks.

0Check WSL Is Actually Installed

Open PowerShell on Windows, not the WSL terminal, and run:

wsl --version
wsl -l -v

PS C:\Users\you> wsl -l -v
  NAME      STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu    Running         2

You want VERSION 2. If nothing is installed, this one command sets it up, then restart your computer:

wsl --install -d Ubuntu

1Open Ubuntu and Update It

Search for Ubuntu in the Start menu, or open Windows Terminal and pick Ubuntu from the dropdown. Then bring the system up to date:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Things nvm and many npm packages need
sudo apt install -y curl build-essential

It will ask for your Linux password, which is the one you chose when Ubuntu first started, not your Windows password. Nothing appears as you type it; that is normal.

2Install nvm (With the Actual Command)

Do not install Node with sudo apt install nodejs. The version in Ubuntu’s repository is usually old, and installing globally with sudo causes permission problems later. Use nvm instead, which installs Node in your home folder and lets you switch versions per project.

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.7/install.sh | bash

Then close and reopen the terminal, or reload your shell config so the nvm command becomes available:

source ~/.bashrc

# Check it is there
command -v nvm

$ command -v nvm
nvm

# If this prints nothing, see the troubleshooting section below.

3Install Node.js

# LTS = Long Term Support. The stable choice for real work.
nvm install --lts

# Make it the default in every new terminal
nvm alias default lts/*

$ nvm install --lts
Installing latest LTS version.
Downloading and installing node v22.20.0...
Now using node v22.20.0 (npm v10.9.3)
Creating default alias: default -> lts/* (-> v22.20.0)

Example output. Your version numbers will be higher; LTS moves forward every year.

4Verify

node -v
npm -v
which node

$ node -v
v22.20.0

$ npm -v
10.9.3

$ which node
/home/you/.nvm/versions/node/v22.20.0/bin/node

npm comes bundled with Node, so there is nothing separate to install. Upgrade it on its own whenever you like with npm install -g npm@latest.

Where You Put Your Project Decides Its Speed

This is the single most valuable thing in this guide, and almost no tutorial mentions it. WSL can see your Windows drives at /mnt/c/, which feels convenient. Working there is drastically slower, because every file read crosses between the two operating systems.

# Do this
cd ~
mkdir -p projects && cd projects

# Not this
# cd /mnt/c/Users/you/Desktop

5Build and Run Something

cd ~/projects
mkdir my-app && cd my-app
npm init -y

# Create a file and run it
echo 'console.log("Node.js is working on WSL!");' > index.js
node index.js

$ node index.js
Node.js is working on WSL!

Now something with a real server, so you can see it in your Windows browser:

import { createServer } from 'node:http';

createServer((req, res) => {
  res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'text/html' });
  res.end('<h1>Hello from WSL</h1>');
}).listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Running at http://localhost:3000');
});

# "type": "module" lets you use import
npm pkg set type=module
node server.js

Why nvm Is Worth It: Switch Versions Live

The real payoff is this. One project needs Node 18, another needs 22, and switching takes one second instead of an afternoon. Click the commands below to see it work.

The nvm commands worth remembering

6Connect VS Code

You keep the Windows interface and get the Linux environment underneath. Install the WSL extension in VS Code on Windows, then from your Ubuntu terminal:

cd ~/projects/my-app
code .

VS Code opens on Windows with the folder loaded from Linux. The bottom-left corner shows a green WSL: Ubuntu badge, and the built-in terminal is your Ubuntu shell.

When Something Goes Wrong

[interop]
appendWindowsPath = false

Common Questions

The Full Video Tutorial

Here is the whole setup on video if you would rather follow along:

New Linux, Node, Docker and Laravel tutorials every week.

If this saved you an afternoon, share it with someone still fighting Node on plain Windows.