iClaude
Tutorial · 2 of 8

Install Node.js

Every iClaude install command starts with npx, which comes bundled with Node.js. Install Node once and you're set for every tutorial after this.

5 min read

Pick your operating system

macOS

Two ways: the official installer (easiest) or Homebrew (better if you already use it).

Option A — official installer

01

Download the installer

Go to nodejs.org/en/download. Click the big green button that says LTS (Long Term Support). It downloads a .pkg file to your Downloads folder.

02

Run the installer

Double-click the file. Click Continue through every screen, then Install. Enter your Mac password if asked. When it says "The installation was successful," close the window.

Option B — Homebrew

terminal
$ brew install node

Windows

01

Download the installer

Go to nodejs.org/en/download. Pick Windows · LTS · .msi · 64-bit. The file lands in your Downloads folder.

02

Run the installer

Double-click the .msi file. Click Next through every screen. When you see the checkbox Automatically install the necessary tools for native modules, leave it unchecked — you don't need it for iClaude and it adds 30 minutes of extra setup. Click Install, then Finish.

03

Restart your terminal

If you had PowerShell or Command Prompt open, close it and open a fresh window. Otherwise the new node command won't be found.

Linux

On Ubuntu, Debian, or any Debian-based distro (including WSL on Windows):

terminal
$ curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
$ sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

On Fedora / RHEL:

terminal
$ curl -fsSL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo bash -
$ sudo dnf install -y nodejs

On Arch:

terminal
$ sudo pacman -S nodejs npm

Verify it worked

Open a fresh terminal window and run these two commands. Both should print a version number.

terminal
$ node --version
$ npx --version

You should see something like v20.18.1 for node and 10.x.x for npx. If both numbers appear, you're done.

Common errors and fixes

command not found: node (Mac/Linux) or 'node' is not recognized (Windows)

The terminal you have open is older than the install. Close every terminal window and open a fresh one. If that doesn't fix it, log out and log back in.

command not found: npx

You probably have a very old Node version. npx ships with every Node since 5.2 (2015), so this usually means the install was partial. Re-run the installer.

EACCES: permission denied when running npx

On macOS or Linux this means npm is trying to write to a folder you don't own. The right fix is to change npm's default directory. Don't run sudo npx — it works once and creates root-owned files that break the next install.

The installer hangs or won't finish on Windows

Almost always corporate antivirus. Pause it, run the installer, and re-enable it. If you can't pause it, ask IT to whitelist the installer.

Next step

Node is in place. Now pick the AI tool you want to install skills into: