turbo-editors/turbo-js · install-node.md

⑂ v1.0.0

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   1# How to install Node.js
3This guide shows how to get `node` and `npm` onto a machine, install the language server beside them, and check that Turbo JS finds it. It assumes you already have Turbo JS, or are about to — see [how to install the editor](install.md) for that.
5**The editor works without any of this.** Editing, colouring, themes, snippets and terminal windows all run with no Node at all. What needs it is every command in the JavaScript menu, and — through the language server — completion, the Code menu and the error marks in the gutter.
7## Which pieces you need
9| Piece | What it is for | Comes from |
10| --- | --- | --- |
11| `node` | The runtime: runs scripts, and is also the test runner (`node --test`) and a syntax checker (`node --check`) | the Node.js installer or a version manager |
12| `npm` | The package manager: installs a project's dependencies and, with `-g`, tools such as the language server | ships with Node |
13| `npx` | Runs a tool from the project's dependencies, or downloads it into a cache first — how the starter file runs Prettier and ESLint | ships with npm |
14| `typescript-language-server` + `typescript@6` | The language server, and the engine it wraps | `npm install -g` |
16Turbo JS was written against Node **24** and npm **11**; any current release works.
18## Install Node
20Pick one. A version manager is the usual choice on a machine where more than one project lives, because projects pin different Node versions.
22**With nvm** (macOS and Linux):
25curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/master/install.sh | bash
26exec $SHELL
27nvm install --lts
30**With Volta:**
33curl https://get.volta.sh | bash
34exec $SHELL
35volta install node
38**With Homebrew** (macOS):
41brew install node
44**With the installer** from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org), which puts `node` and `npm` in `/usr/local/bin` on macOS and Linux.
49node --version
50npm --version
58## Install the language server
61npm install -g typescript-language-server typescript@6
64Two packages. The `@6` is not optional: TypeScript 7 is the native port and ships no `tsserver.js`, and the server refuses to start beside it. [How to enable completion](enable-completion.md) says more.
66Turbo JS's own installer will do this when asked:
69scripts/install.sh --with-server
72It runs the same `npm install -g` when no working server is found, and needs `npm` on `PATH`.
74## Check it
77typescript-language-server --version
84And that it really starts — a server whose TypeScript is the wrong version fails only at this point, not at `--version`:
87echo | typescript-language-server --stdio
90It reads an empty line, finds no message in it, and exits quietly. A server that prints *Could not find a valid TypeScript installation* has TypeScript 7 beside it: `npm install -g typescript@6`.
92## Check that the editor finds it
94Open any `.js` file inside a project and read the right-hand end of the status bar:
97 F1 Describe  F2 Save  F3 Open  F6 Window  F10 Menu       1:1  LSP: ready
100`LSP: ready` means the server started. `LSP: no typescript-language-server — npm install -g typescript-language-server typescript@6` means it was not found, and the message says how to get it.
102**Turbo JS looks in these places, in order**: your `PATH`; `$NVM_BIN`, the directory of the Node version nvm has selected; `$NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX/bin`, or `~/.npm-global/bin` when that variable is unset; `$PNPM_HOME`; `$VOLTA_HOME/bin`, or `~/.volta/bin`; then `/usr/local/bin` and `/opt/homebrew/bin`. The version-manager directories are searched even when they are not on `PATH` — an editor started from a desktop launcher, say — so that the case that otherwise looks like the server being broken works.
104## Variants
106- **`npm install -g` asks for sudo.** Node from the system installer owns `/usr/local/lib`. Either use `sudo`, or give npm a prefix of your own: `npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global` and add `~/.npm-global/bin` to `PATH` — the editor searches that directory by name.
107- **You use pnpm.** `pnpm add -g typescript-language-server typescript@6` puts the server in `$PNPM_HOME`, which the editor searches.
108- **You already have `typescript-language-server` but no completion.** Run `echo | typescript-language-server --stdio` and read what it says. Then read the status bar — `Run ▸ Language server status` shows the path the editor found and whether the server answered its handshake.
109- **You want to upgrade.** `npm update -g typescript-language-server`. Keep `typescript` on 6 until the server can start with 7. Restart the editor: it starts one server per session and does not notice a new binary until then.
110- **You are installing for CI, or into an image.** `node:24-alpine` and the other official images carry `node`, `npm` and `npx`; `npm install -g typescript-language-server typescript@6` in a `RUN` line adds the server. The editor cannot use a server inside a container, so this is for running the project's commands, not for completion.
111- **You want to be sure the editor is not simply finding it on `PATH`.** Start it with a stripped environment — `env PATH=/usr/bin:/bin turbo-js main.js` — and the status bar should still say `LSP: ready` from one of the directories above.
113## What each piece is for, from the editor's side
115| Piece | What the editor uses it for |
116| --- | --- |
117| `typescript-language-server` | Completion, hover, definitions, references, implementations, the file's and the project's symbols, and the error marks |
118| `node` | The **Run** and **Test** items of the JavaScript menu |
119| `npm` | The **Install** and **Start** items |
120| `npx` | The **Format** and **Lint** items |
122## See also
124- [How to enable completion](enable-completion.md) — what to do when the server is installed and still says nothing
125- [How to run Node commands from the editor](run-node-commands.md) — the JavaScript menu
126- [Colouring and completion](../explanation/colouring-and-completion.md) — why the server is TypeScript's

📦 Turbo JS 91999d1 k33g 12h ago	1	# How to install Node.js
	2
	3	This guide shows how to get `node` and `npm` onto a machine, install the language server beside them, and check that Turbo JS finds it. It assumes you already have Turbo JS, or are about to — see [how to install the editor](install.md) for that.
	4
	5	The editor works without any of this. Editing, colouring, themes, snippets and terminal windows all run with no Node at all. What needs it is every command in the JavaScript menu, and — through the language server — completion, the Code menu and the error marks in the gutter.
	6
	7	## Which pieces you need
	8
	9	\| Piece \| What it is for \| Comes from \|
	10	\| --- \| --- \| --- \|
	11	\| `node` \| The runtime: runs scripts, and is also the test runner (`node --test`) and a syntax checker (`node --check`) \| the Node.js installer or a version manager \|
	12	\| `npm` \| The package manager: installs a project's dependencies and, with `-g`, tools such as the language server \| ships with Node \|
	13	\| `npx` \| Runs a tool from the project's dependencies, or downloads it into a cache first — how the starter file runs Prettier and ESLint \| ships with npm \|
	14	\| `typescript-language-server` + `typescript@6` \| The language server, and the engine it wraps \| `npm install -g` \|
	15
	16	Turbo JS was written against Node 24 and npm 11; any current release works.
	17
	18	## Install Node
	19
	20	Pick one. A version manager is the usual choice on a machine where more than one project lives, because projects pin different Node versions.
	21
	22	With nvm (macOS and Linux):
	23
	24	```bash
	25	curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/master/install.sh \| bash
	26	exec $SHELL
	27	nvm install --lts
	28	```
	29
	30	With Volta:
	31
	32	```bash
	33	curl https://get.volta.sh \| bash
	34	exec $SHELL
	35	volta install node
	36	```
	37
	38	With Homebrew (macOS):
	39
	40	```bash
	41	brew install node
	42	```
	43
	44	With the installer from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org), which puts `node` and `npm` in `/usr/local/bin` on macOS and Linux.
	45
	46	Check:
	47
	48	```bash
	49	node --version
	50	npm --version
	51	```
	52
	53	```
	54	v24.19.0
	55	11.17.0
	56	```
	57
	58	## Install the language server
	59
	60	```bash
	61	npm install -g typescript-language-server typescript@6
	62	```
	63
	64	Two packages. The `@6` is not optional: TypeScript 7 is the native port and ships no `tsserver.js`, and the server refuses to start beside it. [How to enable completion](enable-completion.md) says more.
65
66	Turbo JS's own installer will do this when asked:
67
68	```bash
69	scripts/install.sh --with-server
70	```
71
72	It runs the same `npm install -g` when no working server is found, and needs `npm` on `PATH`.
73
74	## Check it
75
76	```bash
77	typescript-language-server --version
78	```
79
80	```
81	6.0.0
82	```
83
84	And that it really starts — a server whose TypeScript is the wrong version fails only at this point, not at `--version`:
85
86	```bash
87	echo \| typescript-language-server --stdio
88	```
89
90	It reads an empty line, finds no message in it, and exits quietly. A server that prints Could not find a valid TypeScript installation has TypeScript 7 beside it: `npm install -g typescript@6`.
91
92	## Check that the editor finds it
93
94	Open any `.js` file inside a project and read the right-hand end of the status bar:
95
96	```
97	F1 Describe F2 Save F3 Open F6 Window F10 Menu 1:1 LSP: ready
98	```
99
100	`LSP: ready` means the server started. `LSP: no typescript-language-server — npm install -g typescript-language-server typescript@6` means it was not found, and the message says how to get it.
101
102	Turbo JS looks in these places, in order: your `PATH`; `$NVM_BIN`, the directory of the Node version nvm has selected; `$NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX/bin`, or `~/.npm-global/bin` when that variable is unset; `$PNPM_HOME`; `$VOLTA_HOME/bin`, or `~/.volta/bin`; then `/usr/local/bin` and `/opt/homebrew/bin`. The version-manager directories are searched even when they are not on `PATH` — an editor started from a desktop launcher, say — so that the case that otherwise looks like the server being broken works.
103
104	## Variants
105
106	- `npm install -g` asks for sudo. Node from the system installer owns `/usr/local/lib`. Either use `sudo`, or give npm a prefix of your own: `npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global` and add `~/.npm-global/bin` to `PATH` — the editor searches that directory by name.
107	- You use pnpm. `pnpm add -g typescript-language-server typescript@6` puts the server in `$PNPM_HOME`, which the editor searches.
108	- You already have `typescript-language-server` but no completion. Run `echo \| typescript-language-server --stdio` and read what it says. Then read the status bar — `Run ▸ Language server status` shows the path the editor found and whether the server answered its handshake.
109	- You want to upgrade. `npm update -g typescript-language-server`. Keep `typescript` on 6 until the server can start with 7. Restart the editor: it starts one server per session and does not notice a new binary until then.
110	- You are installing for CI, or into an image. `node:24-alpine` and the other official images carry `node`, `npm` and `npx`; `npm install -g typescript-language-server typescript@6` in a `RUN` line adds the server. The editor cannot use a server inside a container, so this is for running the project's commands, not for completion.
111	- You want to be sure the editor is not simply finding it on `PATH`. Start it with a stripped environment — `env PATH=/usr/bin:/bin turbo-js main.js` — and the status bar should still say `LSP: ready` from one of the directories above.
112
113	## What each piece is for, from the editor's side
114
115	\| Piece \| What the editor uses it for \|
116	\| --- \| --- \|
117	\| `typescript-language-server` \| Completion, hover, definitions, references, implementations, the file's and the project's symbols, and the error marks \|
118	\| `node` \| The Run and Test items of the JavaScript menu \|
119	\| `npm` \| The Install and Start items \|
120	\| `npx` \| The Format and Lint items \|
121
122	## See also
123
124	- [How to enable completion](enable-completion.md) — what to do when the server is installed and still says nothing
125	- [How to run Node commands from the editor](run-node-commands.md) — the JavaScript menu
126	- [Colouring and completion](../explanation/colouring-and-completion.md) — why the server is TypeScript's