Updated: 28 September 2026 · Applies to: Debian 12 and Ubuntu 24.04
Debian 8 and 9 are no longer supported; this guide uses Debian 12 (Ubuntu 24.04 works the same).
Ionic builds mobile and web apps with web technologies.
Install Node.js (current LTS)
Use the NodeSource packages for the current Long-Term-Support release (24.x at the time of writing; check nodejs.org):
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | bash - # Ubuntu / Debian apt install nodejs curl -fsSL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | bash - # AlmaLinux / Rocky dnf install nodejs
Check with node -v and npm -v.
Tip: For development machines, or several Node versions side by side, use nvm instead: install it from its GitHub page, then nvm install --lts.
Install the Ionic CLI and create an app
npm install -g @ionic/cli ionic start myApp tabs --type=angular # or --type=react / vue cd myApp ionic serve --external
To build Android or iOS apps you also need Capacitor and the platform SDKs (Android Studio, or Xcode on a Mac).
