Node.js for Oracle Linux

About Node.js for Oracle Linux

This page describes Node.js and related packages for current releases of Oracle Linux. For Oracle Linux 8, the packages are provided via AppStream modules and are covered under Oracle Linux support. Consult the Application Stream Module Life Cycle appendix in the Managing Software in Oracle Linux manual for support timelines. For Oracle Linux 7, these packages are published in developer repositories, for which support is limited to package installation assistance only.

Available Node.js Releases

Node.js Version	Oracle Linux Release	Repository/Module:Appstream
v16.x	Oracle Linux 8	nodejs:16
v14.x	Oracle Linux 8	nodejs:14
v12.x	Oracle Linux 8	nodejs:12
v16.x	Oracle Linux 7	ol7_developer_nodejs16
v14.x	Oracle Linux 7	ol7_developer_nodejs14
v12.x	Oracle Linux 7	ol7_developer_nodejs12

Enabling Required Repositories

To configure the yum repositories shown above on your system, install the oracle-nodejs-release-el7 or oracle-nodejs-release-el6 RPM. After installing this RPM, the default enabled repository is that for the latest available Node.js release. To configure the Node.js and the Oracle Instant Client repository:

$ sudo yum install -y oracle-nodejs-release-el7 oracle-release-el7


Installing Node.js on Oracle Linux 7

To install the latest Node.js:

$ sudo yum install nodejs


Updating Node.js on Oracle Linux 7

If you have Node.js installed, and a newer release has been published, make sure you update oracle-nodejs-release-el7 first.

$ sudo yum update oracle-nodejs-release-el7
$ sudo yum update nodejs

Note: if your system has oracle-epel-release-el7 installed or ol7_developer_EPEL among its repo definitions, make sure you disable the EPEL repo while installing or updating nodejs, to avoid installing the wrong package. For example:

$ sudo yum --disablerepo=ol7_developer_EPEL install nodejs


node-oracledb: Connecting Node.js to Oracle Database

The node-oracledb module for Node.js powers high performance Oracle Database applications. Use node-oracledb to connect Node.js applications to Oracle Database. The node-oracledb module is open source and maintained by Oracle. It is stable, well documented, and has a comprehensive test suite.

About Oracle Instant Client

node-oracledb depends on Oracle Instant Client. Starting with Oracle Instant Client 21c, yum/dnf configuration files are delivered via the packages oracle-instantclient-release-el8 and oracle-instantclient-release-el7, respectively. Oracle Instant Client packages up to release 19c are in the ol7_oracle_instantclient and ol8_oracle_instantclient repositories, configured with release packages oracle-release-el7 and oracle-release-el8. Assuming you have enabled the repository for Oracle Instant Client appropriate for your Oracle Linux release, it will be installed as a dependency. More details about Oracle Instant Client on this yum server.

Installing node-oracledb

Each Node.js release has its own repository on Oracle Linux yum server and each of those repositories also contains a corresponding RPM for node-oracledb. These RPMs follow this naming scheme:

node-oracledb-node<node release number>
               

For example, on Oracle Linux 7, the node-oracledb RPM for Node.js 16 is named:

node-oracledb-node16
                

Check the repositories listed under Available Releases to see what RPMs are available.

$ sudo yum install node-oracledb-node16

Note: for Oracle Instant Client releases before 19.x, you must set up the environment so that node-oracledb can find the necessary libraries. For example, for Oracle Instant Client release 18.3:

$ sudo sh -c "echo /usr/lib/oracle/18.3/client64/lib > /etc/ld.so.conf.d/oracle-instantclient.conf"
$ sudo ldconfig

Before you use node-oracledb in a Node.js program, set NODE_PATH so that the node-oracledb module can be found:

$ export NODE_PATH=$(npm root -g)

Installing Node.js on Oracle Linux 8

Oracle Linux 8 introduces DNF as well as the concepts of modules, streams and profiles to allow for the management of different versions of software applications within a single operating system release. For mode details, please refer to the documentation.

To install Node.js 16 on Oracle Linux 8:

$ sudo dnf install @nodejs:16

Installing node-oracledb on Oracle Linux 8

To install node-oracledb on Oracle Linux 8:

$ sudo dnf install oracle-instantclient-release-el8 oraclelinux-developer-release-el8
$ sudo dnf install node-oracledb-node14
$ export NODE_PATH=$(npm root -g)

Node.js in Containers

To run Node.js applications —including the node-oracledb module— in containers see the resources below:

• Example Dockerfiles for Node.js and node-oracledb:Oracle Linux 8, Oracle Linux 7
• Container images on GitHub Container registry: Oracle Linux 8, Oracle Linux 7

Additional Resources

Links

• Documentation: Getting Started with Node-oracledb
• Oracle Node.js Developer Center
• Javascript and Oracle Blog: Dan McGhan
• Scripting and Oracle Blog: Christopher Jones
• Oracle Linux yum server FAQ: Configuring yum proxy

Community Support

For help with Node.js on Oracle Linux, please visit the Groundbreakers Developer Community Node.js space.