How to install the latest versions of node.js and Bower on Ubuntu 13.10

node.js bowerNode.js is a popular platform created for easily building fast and scalable network applications. Also, node.js contains a highly customizable HTTP server library so it is possible to run a web server without the use of external software, such as Apache thus allowing more control of how the web server works. Node.js is maturing quickly and it has become wildly popular. Node.js is able to handle modern Web content in all its richness. It’s fairly easy to get started with node.js. To install the latest version of node.js on a virtual server running Ubuntu 13.10, follow the steps below:

Update Ubuntu packages and install the required dependencies:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install gcc cpp g++ automake1.9 autoconf libtool flex bison python-software-properties

Download the latest version of node.js from the official site, then extract the archive file and install node.js:

cd /usr/local/src
wget http://nodejs.org/dist/node-latest.tar.gz
tar zxvf node-latest.tar.gz
cd node-v0.1*
./configure
make
sudo make install

Then, check the version of node.js installed on the virtual server using the following command:

# node --version
v0.10.23

Bower is a front-end package manager for the web which runs over Git, and is package-agnostic. To install Bower execute the following commands:

sudo apt-get install git-core

sudo npm cache clean

sudo npm install -g bower

Once it is installed on the VPS, more information about Bower is available via ‘bower help’:

# bower help

Usage:

    bower <command> [<args>] [<options>]

Commands:

    cache                   Manage bower cache
    help                    Display help information about Bower
    home                    Opens a package homepage into your favorite browser
    info                    Info of a particular package
    init                    Interactively create a bower.json file
    install                 Install a package locally
    link                    Symlink a package folder
    list                    List local packages
    lookup                  Look up a package URL by name
    prune                   Removes local extraneous packages
    register                Register a package
    search                  Search for a package by name
    update                  Update a local package
    uninstall               Remove a local package

Options:

    -f, --force             Makes various commands more forceful
    -j, --json              Output consumable JSON
    -l, --log-level         What level of logs to report
    -o, --offline           Do not hit the network
    -q, --quiet             Only output important information
    -s, --silent            Do not output anything, besides errors
    -V, --verbose           Makes output more verbose
    --allow-root            Allows running commands as root

See 'bower help <command>' for more information on a specific command.

This is just enough to get you started.

Of course you don’t have to do any of this if you use one of our Linux VPS hosting services, in which case you can simply ask our expert Linux admins to install node.js and Bower on your VPS for you. They are available 24×7 and will take care of your request immediately.

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