Node.js and Git Setup

Overview

CLI-based AI coding tools such as Claude Code and Codex CLI both require Node.js 18+ and Git. This guide walks through the installation steps for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Installation

Windows

Node.js: visit the Node.js website and download the LTS .msi installer. Double-click and accept the wizard defaults.

Git: visit the Git website and download the installer.

Double-click and accept the wizard defaults.

Mac

Homebrew is the recommended one-liner. If Homebrew is not yet installed, run:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Then install Node and Git together:

brew install node git

Alternatively, grab the .pkg from the Node.js website. macOS usually ships with Git; the first time you run git --version, a prompt to install "Command Line Developer Tools" may appear — just click Install.

Linux

Use nvm for Node.js (easy multi-version switching, and many distro repos ship outdated Node versions):

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.1/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
nvm install --lts

Install Git via your distro's package manager:

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install -y git

# CentOS / RHEL / Fedora
sudo dnf install -y git

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S git

Verify

Run on any platform:

node -v
npm -v
git --version

If all three print version numbers, you're set.