Node.js – ‘npm’ is not recognized as internal or external command, operable program or batch file

Have you correctly set your PATH to point at your Git installation?

You need to add the following paths to PATH:

• C:\Program Files\Git\bin\
• C:\Program Files\Git\cmd\

And check that these paths are correct – you may have Git installed on a different drive, or under Program Files (x86). Correct the paths if necessary.

Modifying PATH on Windows 10:

1. In the Start Menu or taskbar search, search for "environment variable".
2. Select "Edit the system environment variables".
3. Click the "Environment Variables" button at the bottom.
4. Double-click the "Path" entry under "System variables".
5. With the "New" button in the PATH editor, add C:\Program Files\Git\bin\ and C:\Program Files\Git\cmd\ to the end of the list.
6. Close and re-open your console.

Modifying PATH on Windows 7:

1. Right-click "Computer" on the Desktop or Start Menu.
2. Select "Properties".
3. On the very far left, click the "Advanced system settings" link.
4. Click the "Environment Variables" button at the bottom.
5. Double-click the "Path" entry under "System variables".
6. At the end of "Variable value", insert a ; if there is not already one, and then C:\Program Files\Git\bin\;C:\Program Files\Git\cmd\. Do not put a space between ; and the entry.
7. Close and re-open your console.

If these instructions weren't helpful, feel free to look at some others:

• How to set the path and environment variables in Windows (Computer Hope)
• How to edit your system PATH for easy command line access in Windows (How-To Geek)
• How to set Path environment variables in Windows 10 (Addictive Tips)
• What are PATH and other environment variables, and how can I set or use them? (Super User)

Here are the exact steps I just took to run the "Hello World" example found at http://nodejs.org/. This is a quick and dirty example. For a permanent installation you'd want to store the executable in a more reasonable place than the root directory and update your PATH to include its location.

1. Download the Windows executable here: http://nodejs.org/#download
2. Copy the file to C:\
3. Create C:\hello.js
4. Paste in the following content:

    var http = require('http');
    http.createServer(function (req, res) {
      res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain'});
      res.end('Hello World\n');
    }).listen(1337, "127.0.0.1");
    console.log('Server running at http://127.0.0.1:1337/');

1. Save the file
2. Start -> Run... -> cmd
3. c:

4. C:>node hello.js

   Server running at http://127.0.0.1:1337/
   

That's it. This was done on Windows XP.