This tutorial explains how to install Node.js and npm on a Ubuntu 18.04 machine. Node.js is an open source cross-platform JavaScript run-time environment that allows server-side execution of JavaScript code which simply means that you can run JavaScript code on your machine as a standalone application, free of any web browser. Node.js is mainly used on the back-end, but it is also popular as a full-stack and front-end solution. npm is the default package manager for Node.js and the world’s largest software registry.