# Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes you are already familiar with a few core concepts:
You could work through this tutorial without knowing anything about these technologies but you may find yourself getting lost in terminology that we don't stop and take the time to explain. It also helps knowing where the line is between what is built into React and what additional features Redwood brings to the table.
# Node.js and Yarn Versions
During installation, RedwoodJS checks if your system meets version requirements for Node and Yarn:
- node: ">=12"
- yarn: ">=1.15"
👉 Heads Up: If your system versions do not meet both requirements, the installation bootstrap will result in an ERROR. To check, please run the following from your terminal command line:
node --version
yarn --version
Please do upgrade accordingly. Then proceed to the RedwoodJS installation when you're ready!
Installing Node and Yarn
There are many ways to install and manage both Node.js and Yarn. If you're installing for the first time, we recommend the following:
Yarn
- We recommend following the instructions via Yarnpkg.com.
Node.js
- For Linux and Mac users,
nvm
is a great tool for managing multiple versions of Node on one system. It takes a bit more effort to set up and learn, however, in which case getting the latest installation from Nodejs.org works just fine.
- For Mac users, if you already have Homebrew installed, you can use it to install
nvm
as well. Otherwise, follow the installation instructions fromnvm
.- For Linux users, you can follow the installation instructions from
nvm
.- We recommend Windows users visit Nodejs.org for installation.
If you're confused about which of the two current Node versions to use, we recommend using the most recent "even" LTS, which is currently v14.