bot/docs/install/node.md

title, summary, read_when

title	summary	read_when
Node.js	Install and configure Node.js for HanzoBot — version requirements, install options, and PATH troubleshooting	You need to install Node.js before installing HanzoBot You installed HanzoBot but `hanzo-bot` is command not found npm install -g fails with permissions or PATH issues

Node.js

HanzoBot requires Node 22 or newer. The installer script will detect and install Node automatically — this page is for when you want to set up Node yourself and make sure everything is wired up correctly (versions, PATH, global installs).

Check your version

node -v

If this prints v22.x.x or higher, you're good. If Node isn't installed or the version is too old, pick an install method below.

Install Node

**Homebrew** (recommended):

```bash
brew install node
```

Or download the macOS installer from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org/).

**Ubuntu / Debian:**

```bash
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
```

**Fedora / RHEL:**

```bash
sudo dnf install nodejs
```

Or use a version manager (see below).

**winget** (recommended):

```powershell
winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS
```

**Chocolatey:**

```powershell
choco install nodejs-lts
```

Or download the Windows installer from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org/).

Version managers let you switch between Node versions easily. Popular options:

• fnm — fast, cross-platform
• nvm — widely used on macOS/Linux
• mise — polyglot (Node, Python, Ruby, etc.)

Example with fnm:

fnm install 22
fnm use 22

Make sure your version manager is initialized in your shell startup file (`~/.zshrc` or `~/.bashrc`). If it isn't, `hanzo-bot` may not be found in new terminal sessions because the PATH won't include Node's bin directory.

Troubleshooting

hanzo-bot: command not found

This almost always means npm's global bin directory isn't on your PATH.

```bash npm prefix -g ``` ```bash echo "$PATH" ```

Look for `<npm-prefix>/bin` (macOS/Linux) or `<npm-prefix>` (Windows) in the output.

Add to `~/.zshrc` or `~/.bashrc`:

    ```bash
    export PATH="$(npm prefix -g)/bin:$PATH"
    ```

    Then open a new terminal (or run `rehash` in zsh / `hash -r` in bash).
  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Windows">
    Add the output of `npm prefix -g` to your system PATH via Settings → System → Environment Variables.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Permission errors on npm install -g (Linux)

If you see EACCES errors, switch npm's global prefix to a user-writable directory:

mkdir -p "$HOME/.npm-global"
npm config set prefix "$HOME/.npm-global"
export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"

Add the export PATH=... line to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc to make it permanent.