For web development, you need Node.js and the related ecosystem. It comes with the npm package manager.
I'm on a Mac, and I've had problems with homebrew in the past. I avoid it. I downloaded Node.js from the command line...
- Download Node.js -- nodejs.org
- The install on 19 Nov 2025...
# Download and install nvm:
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.3/install.sh | bash
# in lieu of restarting the shell
\. "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh"
# Download and install Node.js:
nvm install 24
# Verify the Node.js version:
node -v # Should print "v24.11.1".
# Verify npm version:
npm -v # Should print "11.6.2".
- First verify the location for global installs (it's $HOME/.nvm)
npm root -g - Install: https://yarnpkg.com/getting-started/install
npm install -g corepack
The statement
import "dotenv/config";
is an ES6 module syntax in Node.js that loads environment variables from a local .env file
into the Node.js runtime's process.env object without needing to explicitly call a configuration function.
In practice, you should .gitignore your .env file.