This is a straightforward Node.js installation, just copy and paste the commands in your shell prompt. Root permissions are not required

The first and the last installation steps are necessary only during first installation.When you wish to upgrade to latest version, just repeat steps

Prerequisites
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Installation steps
See also

Prerequisites

I assume you are on a Unix-like host, with a bash shell, wget, tar, an Internet connection and that your $HOME environment variable is defined properly. You will need Python >= 2.6 and all the prerequisites necessary to build Node.js from sources: check out the Installation page on Node.js wiki.

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For the impatient, just copy the following commands and paste it in your shell prompt

NODEJS_ROOT=${NODEJS_ROOT:-~/nodejs}
cd /tmp
wget -N http://nodejs.org/dist/node-latest.tar.gz && tar xzf node-latest.tar.gz
NODEJS_CURRENT=$(tar tf node-latest.tar.gz|head -1)
mkdir -p $NODEJS_ROOT/$NODEJS_CURRENT
cd $NODEJS_CURRENT
./configure --prefix=$NODEJS_ROOT/$NODEJS_CURRENT && make install
cd $NODEJS_ROOT
rm current 2> /dev/null # Removes current symbolic link, if any
ln -s $NODEJS_CURRENT current
echo Do not forget to edit your environment http://blog.g14n.info/2013/01/install-nodejs-without-sudo.html#edit-your-environment
echo Happy coding!

If it is the first time you install Node.js for that user in that host, go to Edit your environment section, otherwise you will miss node binary in your PATH.

Note that, before launching commands, you can set NODEJS_ROOT environment variable to point to your target location otherwise it will default to ~/nodejs.

Installation steps

Situate it

Only once

Choose your local folder, wherever you have enough space and read/write rights. Set a NODEJS_ROOT environment variabile, so you can use it during installation process.

$ NODEJS_ROOT=~/nodejs # or whatever

Get it

Go to a temporary folder, /tmp for instance and get latest Node.js source.

You will see a node-vX.Y.Z folder, that is node-v0.8.17 right now, containing the latest Node.js sources. The -N flag, will overwrite file and download it only if it is newer.

$ cd /tmp
$ wget -N http://nodejs.org/dist/node-latest.tar.gz && tar xzf node-latest.tar.gz

Build it

Now, figure out what is current version so you can point to the target directory (a.k.a. prefix) and compile Node.js sources.

$ NODEJS_CURRENT=$(tar tf node-latest.tar.gz|head -1)
$ mkdir -p $NODEJS_ROOT/$NODEJS_CURRENT
$ cd $NODEJS_CURRENT
$ ./configure --prefix=$NODEJS_ROOT/$NODEJS_CURRENT && make install

Update it

When compilation ends successful, update or create a simbolic link to your current installation. This will make it easier to upgrade to next version.

$ cd $NODEJS_ROOT
$ rm current 2> /dev/null # Removes current symbolic link, if any
$ ln -s $NODEJS_CURRENT current

Edit your environment

Only once

Add permanently NODEJS_ROOT variable to your environment, and add node and npm binaries to your PATH. This is one way to do it:

$ echo "export NODEJS_ROOT=$NODEJS_ROOT"            >> $HOME/.bash_profile
$ echo 'export PATH=$NODEJS_ROOT/current/bin:$PATH' >> $HOME/.bash_profile
$ source $HOME/.bash_profile # reload your env, so you can use node right now

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