Install and manage Node.js for Azure development

Article
08/10/2022

Your installation of Node.js for Azure development should consider both your local development environment and the hosting environment you plan to deploy to. Azure provides hosting for Node.js on both Windows and Linux in the Long Term Support (LTS) version.

Azure SDK Node.js minimum version

The Azure SDK supports the Node.js Long Term Support (LTS) version. Read the Azure SDK Support Policy for more details.

Azure services Node.js minimum version

In order to host your JavaScript apps in an Azure hosting environment, make sure your local development environment Node.js runtime mimics the Azure hosting runtime you intend to use.

Azure App service uses the Node.js runtime engine. To show all supported Node.js versions, run the following command in the Cloud Shell:
```
az webapp list-runtimes | grep node
```
Azure Static Web App run times are only relevant to the Function APIs.
Azure Functions supported Node.js versions are based on which version of Functions you use.
Custom run times - a custom runtime is supported in the following ways:
- Virtual machines
- Containers - single, web app, Kubernetes
- (serverless) Functions - use custom handlers

Manage versions of Node.js

When you need to manage more than one version of Node.js across your local and remote environments, we recommend:

NVM: a command-line interface to set or switch your local version of Node.js.
- OSX, *nix - nvm
- Windows - nvm for Windows
Containers: Use a container with a specific Node.js minimum version. You can manage the version of Node.js across several environments using containers. Visual Studio Code's Remote - Containers extension simplifies container use. After you install Docker, and you have your project open, use the extension to load the project into a container and attach to the container to debug.

Download and install Node.js based on your intended use

You can download and install Node.js based on your requirements.

Next steps

Configure your local development environment for Azure SDK usage