Firebase CLI tool is freezing when I type 'firebase init'

Question

I installed the firebase command line tool and logged in successfully. I type

   firebase init 

in terminal, within my project directory, and I get the option to choose Database, Functions, or Hosting. I use the arrows and space bar to select Functions, press enter, and am presented with a list of projects. From this point forward I cannot do anything in terminal. I have to quit terminal in order to use it again. I am running OSX El Capitan, 10.11.6. I contacted Apple Support and they recommended talking with Firebase first, who in turn recommends asking stack overflow first. Any idea what the problem may be?

Answer 1

See the comment above, Node v8.0 and 8.1 both had regressions that broke the Firebase CLI. I upgraded my version of Node from 8.1.0 to 8.1.3, and everything works fine.