Install Node.js on macOS

Required runtime for the three main AI coding tools.

Important

Claude Code, CodeX, and Gemini CLI all require Node.js 18+. If Node.js 18 or later is already installed, you can skip this page. Check with node -v.

Method 1: Homebrew Package Manager (Recommended)

# Install Homebrew if it is not installed
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install Node.js
brew install node

# Verify installation
node --version
npm --version

Method 2: Official Installer

1. Visit the Node.js website: https://nodejs.org
2. Download the LTS .pkg installer
3. Run the installer and follow the prompts

Verify Installation

Open Terminal and run:

node --version
npm --version

If version numbers are shown, such as v18.x.x or later, installation succeeded.

FAQ

Homebrew Installation Is Slow

You can use a local mirror:

export HOMEBREW_BREW_GIT_REMOTE="https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/git/homebrew/brew.git"

Permission Issues

If you encounter permission problems, do not use sudo for Homebrew. Fix Homebrew permissions instead:

sudo chown -R $(whoami) /usr/local/bin /usr/local/lib

Next Steps

Environment Ready

You can now install Claude Code, CodeX, or Gemini CLI.

• Install Claude Code
• Install CodeX
• Install Gemini CLI