How to Check Node.js Version Quickly and Easily

To check your Node.js version, open your terminal or command prompt and run node -v or node --version. This command shows the installed Node.js version as a simple string.

Syntax

The basic command to check Node.js version is node -v or node --version. Both commands do the same thing and print the version number of Node.js installed on your system.

• node: The Node.js runtime command.
• -v or --version: Flags to display the version.

bash

node -v

Output

v20.4.0

Example

This example shows how to check the Node.js version from the terminal. Just type the command and press Enter. The output will be the version number.

bash

node -v

Output

v20.4.0

Common Pitfalls

Sometimes users try to check the version inside a Node.js script incorrectly. For example, running console.log('node -v') just prints the string, not the version.

To get the version inside a script, use process.version.

javascript

console.log('node -v'); // Wrong way

console.log(process.version); // Right way

Output

node -v
v20.4.0

Quick Reference

Here is a quick summary of commands and code to check Node.js version:

bash

node -v
node --version

// In a Node.js script:
console.log(process.version);

Output

v20.4.0
v20.4.0
v20.4.0

Key Takeaways

Use node -v or node --version in the terminal to see Node.js version.

Inside a Node.js script, use process.version to get the version programmatically.

Both -v and --version flags work the same way.

Avoid printing version commands as strings inside scripts; use the proper API instead.