# Installing Node.js

Caplin Trader’s build stack requires Node.js 18. This page provides guidance on installing Node.js on Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, and Linux.

## Installing Node.js on Microsoft Windows

We recommend installing Node.js 18 using the installer from [Node.js Downloads](https://nodejs.org/en/download) on the Node.js website.

To install the build environment required to build native Node.js modules, see [Compiling native AddOn modules](https://github.com/Microsoft/nodejs-guidelines/blob/master/windows-environment.md#compiling-native-addon-modules) in the Microsoft Node.js Guidelines.

## Installing Node.js on macOS

We recommend installing Node.js 18 using [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/).

The Homebrew package for Node.js automatically configures the npm package manager to install global packages to a location under your home directory (see npm’s [prefix](https://docs.npmjs.com/misc/config/#prefix) variable).

## Installing Node.js on Linux

We recommend installing Node.js 18 using [Node Version Manager](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm) (nvm).

Some node packages required by Caplin Trader contain native extensions and may require compilation during installation. To set up a build environment, run the appropriate command below:

**Red Hat Enterprise Linux and variants**

```
$ sudo yum group install "Development Tools"
```

**Ubuntu and variants**

```
$ sudo apt install build-essential
```