Unable to install nodejs script from nodesource

Solution 1:

I recommend installing the latest version of Node.js natively as a snap package rather than trying to install the Node.js package from nodesource.com.

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, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 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 Status Codename Initial release LTS Start Maintenance Start Maintenance End
6.x EOL Boron 2016-04-26 2016-10-18 2018-04-30 2019-04-30
7.x EOL 2017-05-30 2017-06-30
8.x EOL Carbon 2016-10-25 2017-10-31 2019-01-01 2019-12-31
9.x EOL 2017-10-01 2018-06-30
10.x EOL Dubnium 2018-04-24 2018-10-30 2020-05-19 2021-04-30
11.x EOL 2018-10-23 2019-06-01
12.x Maintenance LTS Erbium 2019-04-23 2019-10-21 2020-11-301 2022-04-30
13.x EOL 2019-10-22 2020-06-01
14.x Maintenance LTS Fermium 2020-04-21 2020-10-27 2021-10-30 2023-04-30
16.x Active LTS Gallium 2021-04-20 2021-10-26 2022-10-18 2024-04-30
17.x Current 2021-10-19 2022-04-01 2022-06-01
18.x Pending 2022-04-19 2022-10-25 2023-10-18 2025-04-30