How to Install Node.js 26 LTS on Windows, Mac and Linux

The fastest, most reliable way to install Node.js 26 LTS is to grab the official installer straight from nodejs.org/en/download: the .msi package on Windows, a platform-matched binary archive on macOS, or the same archive (or your package manager of choice) on Linux. As of today, the download page lists v26.13.1 as the "Latest LTS" release, with v24.22.3 and v22.23.5 still receiving long-term support and v27.0.0-alpha.0.1.0 available only as an early "Latest Alpha" build. This guide walks through installing Node.js 26 on all three major operating systems, plus the version-manager route (nvm, fnm) many developers prefer, and how to confirm the install worked.

Which Node.js version should you install?

Before downloading anything, it's worth knowing what you're choosing between. The Node.js project currently maintains three active LTS lines plus one pre-release line:

Unless you have a specific reason to stay on an older LTS line, v26.13.1 is the right pick: it's the version the download page recommends by default, and it's the release this desk covered when Node.js 26 became Active LTS on October 28, 2026. The alpha build exists so contributors and library maintainers can test against what's coming next — the Node.js download page itself labels alpha releases as meant for early testing, not production use, since their APIs can still change between builds.

Before you install: a few things to check first

A handful of quick checks up front save time later, especially if you're not installing on a clean machine:

• Do you already have Node.js installed? Open a terminal and run node -v. If something other than a "command not found" error comes back, you have an existing install, and you'll want to decide whether to replace it outright, upgrade it in place, or add Node.js 26 alongside it with a version manager (covered further down). Running two full standalone installs side by side without a version manager tends to create PATH conflicts, so pick one approach rather than mixing them.
• Which architecture does your machine use? The download page's version selector will usually detect this automatically, but if you're downloading manually (for example, onto a server over SSH), you'll need to pick the right build yourself — typically x64 for most Windows and Intel Mac/Linux machines, or arm64 for Apple Silicon Macs and most modern ARM-based Linux servers and single-board computers.
• Do you need administrator rights? A system-wide install via the Windows .msi or a Homebrew/Chocolatey install generally needs admin or sudo privileges. If you don't have them, or you'd rather not grant Node.js system-wide access at all, a version manager installed into your own home directory avoids the issue.
• Does your project pin a specific version? Check for an .nvmrc file, or an "engines" field in package.json, before assuming "install the latest LTS" is the right call for an existing codebase — it may be deliberately pinned to Node.js 22 or 24 until the team migrates.

Quick install reference by OS

If you just want the shortest path, here's the condensed version for each platform. Details and alternative methods for each follow below.

Installing Node.js 26 on Windows

For a system-wide install, the Node.js download page specifically recommends the Windows Installer when possible:

1. Go to nodejs.org/en/download, make sure the version selector shows v26.13.1 and the Windows/x64 (or ARM64) target, and download the .msi file.
2. Run the installer and step through the wizard. It installs Node.js and npm, and offers to add both to your system PATH automatically.
3. Reopen your terminal (PowerShell or Command Prompt) so the updated PATH takes effect, then verify the install (see the verification section below).

If you use the .zip or .7z archive instead of the .msi, the official guidance is explicit: extract Node.js to a directory that other, untrusted users on the machine can't write to, and avoid leaving the installation folder with permissions that let other authenticated users create or modify files inside it. That matters more on shared or multi-user Windows machines than on a personal laptop, but it's good practice either way.

Two package-manager alternatives are also available, though the download page is careful to note that third-party installation scripts aren't maintained by the Node.js project itself:

• Chocolatey: choco install nodejs --version=26.13.1
• fnm (via winget): winget install Schniz.fnm, then open a new terminal and run fnm install --use 26

Installing Node.js 26 on macOS

macOS doesn't get a dedicated .pkg installer from the official download page right now — the two supported official routes are the binary archive and Homebrew:

1. Binary archive: On the download page, select macOS and the correct architecture (Apple Silicon/arm64 or Intel/x64), then download the .tar.gz or .tar.xz archive and extract it. Add the extracted bin folder to your shell's PATH to use node and npm from any terminal.
2. Homebrew: if you already use Homebrew, run brew install node@26 for the Node.js 26 line specifically, or brew install node for whatever Homebrew currently treats as the primary formula.

As with every community package manager mentioned on the download page, Homebrew's Node.js formula is maintained by the Homebrew project, not the Node.js project — if the formula breaks or lags behind a new release, that's a Homebrew issue to report upstream, not a Node.js bug.

Installing Node.js 26 on Linux

On Linux, the official download page again offers the binary archive as the primary path, alongside version managers and Docker:

1. Binary archive: download the .tar.xz (or .tar.gz) build matching your architecture (x64, arm64, etc.) from nodejs.org/en/download, extract it — commonly to /usr/local/lib/nodejs or similar — and add its bin directory to your PATH.
2. Your distribution's own package manager (apt, dnf, pacman, etc.) may also offer a Node.js package, but these repository versions are frequently older than the current LTS and, like every third-party packaging route, aren't maintained by the Node.js project.
3. Docker: if you'd rather not install Node.js on the host at all, the download page's own Docker tab offers docker pull node:26-slim, then docker run -it --rm --entrypoint sh node:26-slim to drop into a shell with Node.js 26 ready to go.

Using a version manager: nvm or fnm

If you work across multiple Node.js versions — say, one project pinned to 22 LTS and another on 26 — a version manager is usually easier than reinstalling the binary every time. The two most common options, on macOS and Linux:

• nvm: curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.41.0/install.sh | bash, then reload your shell (or run \. "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh") and install a version with nvm install 26 (or nvm install --lts for whatever the current Latest LTS is).
• fnm: on macOS/Linux, curl -o- https://fnm.vercel.app/install | bash; on Windows, winget install Schniz.fnm. Either way, install a version with fnm install --use 26.

For a team project, many developers commit an .nvmrc file (just the version number, e.g. 26, as its contents) to the repository root. Anyone using nvm can then run nvm use inside the project folder and automatically switch to the pinned version, instead of relying on everyone remembering which Node.js line a given codebase needs. fnm supports the same .nvmrc file out of the box, and also reads a similar .node-version file if you prefer that convention.

It's worth being precise about who stands behind these tools: nvm is not an official Node.js project tool. It's a separate, community-maintained open-source project — see nvm's own GitHub repository for its documentation and release notes — and the Node.js download page itself only recommends it as one option among several "community" installation methods, explicitly stating that such scripts aren't maintained by the Node.js project. That doesn't make nvm untrustworthy; it just means issues with it belong in nvm's own issue tracker, not Node.js's.

Node.js itself is an open-source project under the OpenJS Foundation, a neutral home for a number of widely used JavaScript projects — worth knowing if you ever need to track down governance, trademark, or security-reporting details rather than installation help.

Verifying your installation

Whichever method you used, confirm it worked by opening a fresh terminal window and running:

node -v
npm -v

node -v should print v26.13.1 (or whichever v26.x patch is current when you install), and npm -v should print the npm version bundled with that Node.js release. If the command isn't found, the most common cause is a PATH that wasn't updated — close and reopen your terminal, or on Windows/macOS, log out and back in, before troubleshooting further.

If you downloaded a binary archive or source tarball rather than running an installer, the download page also links out to a signed SHASUMS file for that release so you can confirm the download wasn't corrupted or tampered with in transit — worth doing before you extract anything on a machine you care about.

First steps after installing

Once node -v and npm -v report the expected v26.13.1-era versions, a few quick follow-up steps round out a fresh setup:

1. Update npm itself, if needed: Node.js 26 ships with a bundled npm version, but npm releases on its own schedule. Run npm install -g npm@latest if you want the newest npm on top of your new Node.js install.
2. Enable Corepack for Yarn or pnpm, if your project uses them: recent Node.js releases bundle Corepack as a way to manage alternate package-manager versions without a separate global install; run corepack enable once per machine if your project's tooling expects it.
3. Confirm a project actually runs: inside an existing project folder, npm install followed by whatever start script the project defines (commonly npm run dev or npm start) is the real-world test that the new install behaves the way your codebase expects — more meaningful than the version check alone.
4. Set your editor's interpreter path, if applicable: some editor and IDE integrations cache the path to the Node.js binary. After switching versions, especially via a version manager, you may need to restart the editor or point it at the new binary location.

Keeping Node.js 26 updated and secure

Installing Node.js once isn't the end of the job — LTS lines still receive regular security and bug-fix updates throughout their support window. This desk has already covered why that matters concretely: Node.js shipped a fix for a critical Brotli decoder flaw that allowed remote code execution back in October, patched well before most LTS users would have hit Node.js 26 at all. The practical takeaway for anyone following this guide is to periodically re-run your installer, re-run brew upgrade node / choco upgrade nodejs, or bump your version-manager install, rather than treating "installed once" as "done forever." If you want the full LTS and end-of-life schedule for planning upgrades ahead of time, that's covered separately on this desk.

Troubleshooting common install problems

• "node is not recognized" / command not found: almost always a PATH issue — reopen your terminal, or on Windows re-run the installer and confirm the "Add to PATH" option was checked.
• Permission errors running npm on macOS/Linux: avoid using sudo npm install -g; it's a common source of broken global-package permissions. A version manager like nvm or fnm installs Node.js into your home directory, which sidesteps the issue entirely.
• Old version still showing after upgrade: if you have multiple installs (e.g., a system package and a version manager), check which node binary is first on your PATH with which node (macOS/Linux) or where.exe node (Windows).
• Need an older project to keep working: you don't have to replace an existing Node.js 22 or 24 install to add 26 — a version manager lets both coexist, switching per project or per terminal session.
• Installer blocked by antivirus or a corporate proxy: some endpoint-security tools flag new installers until they build up reputation, and some corporate networks block direct HTTPS downloads from nodejs.org. If the installer itself is blocked, try the signed archive instead and extract it manually; if only npm install is failing afterward, check whether your organization requires a proxy or custom registry configured via npm config set proxy / .npmrc.
• Multiple Node.js installs fighting each other: if you've previously installed Node.js through more than one method (say, a system package plus nvm), uninstalling cleanly can be messier than installing fresh. When in doubt, remove the older method entirely before relying on a version manager going forward, rather than leaving both in place indefinitely.

What's next

With Node.js 26 LTS installed, the practical next steps are project-specific: run your test suite against it, check any native dependencies you use for 26 compatibility, and update CI configuration to pin the new version. Longer term, keep an eye on the project's annual cadence — Node.js 27 is currently only an alpha build, having dropped the old odd/even release model in favor of one new LTS line per year, so the next version worth installing for production won't be ready until well into 2027. Until then, v26.13.1 is the release to standardize on, and the download page is the place to check for the latest patch release before each new project kicks off.

Written byFelix Moreau

Felix Moreau writes Pandromeda's software coverage and how-to guides. He covers Windows, macOS and Linux updates, the apps people rely on, emulators and developer tools, and turns official documentation into clear, numbered steps that work on the current version.

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