Installing NPM/Node on Bash on Ubuntu on Windows (WSL). What architecture does Ubuntu/Bash use?

Question

I'm using Bash on Ubuntu on Windows as the command line tool.

I need to install Node and NPM, and on the download page for unix I need to choose between 5 different options: 32bits, 64 bits, ArmV6, ArmV7, Armv8. Arms themselves are either 32 or 64 bit so this left me a confused.

Are Arm versions meant for mobile devices? I couldn't find Bash/Ubuntu in any directory, and not in the 64 bit program directory.

If my Windows is 64 bit, can I assume that Bash/Ubuntu will be 64 bits as well, and that that is the right file to download?

Answer 1

To install node and npm in Ubuntu on WSL you need to install nvm. It doesn't work with apt-install

1. Install NVM

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.33.0/install.sh | bash

2. Edit ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc depending on the Linux Shell you're using and add the following at the bottom

export NVM_DIR="/home/yourusername/.nvm" [ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"

Now restart bash, and then run

nvm install node

That will install the latest, if you wish to install a specific version

nvm install v6.11.5

You're all set.

Credit : https://winsmarts.com/how-to-install-node-on-linux-on-windows-wsl-65069ea5f83d

Answer 2

uname -a

Run the above command in WSl.

If it is 64 bit it will display the following

Linux Karthik-Pc 4.4.0-17134-Microsoft #112-Microsoft Thu Jun 07 22:57:00 PST 2018 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

If it is 32 bit then it will display

Linux Karthik-Pc 4.4.0-17134-Microsoft #112-Microsoft Thu Jun 07 22:57:00 PST 2018 i686 i686 i686 GNU/Linux

Btw you can easily download node and npm in wsl from apt.

apt-get install -y nodejs