How to install Yarn on Linux (AlmaLinux)

This article will walk you through the Yarn installation process on AlmaLinux in simple steps. AlmaLinux provides a solid base for a wide range of development projects, and installing Yarn on this platform can help with project dependency management. We will also explore how Liquid Web products can help this installation by offering a reliable hosting environment and competent support.

To read up on how to install Yarn on Windows and Ubuntu, refer to the following articles:

• How to Install Yarn on Ubuntu 18.04
• 4 Methods for Installing Yarn on Windows Server

Key points

The main points to take away after reading this article include:

• Installing Yarn using the Yarn RPM package.
• Installing Yarn using Node Package Manager (NPM).
• Installing packages using Yarn.
• Creating a sample project in Yarn.
• Updating Yarn.
• Uninstalling Yarn.

What is Yarn?

Yarn is a fast, reliable, secure package manager for JavaScript developed by Facebook. It is crucial in modern software development for efficiently managing dependencies, ensuring consistent installations across different environments, and avoiding version conflicts. Yarn's use of a lock file (yarn.lock) and a global cache for downloaded packages streamline the development process, making it an essential tool for developers on platforms like AlmaLinux, where it simplifies the management of JavaScript dependencies in projects

Prerequisites

• Operating System and Version: AlmaLinux OS 8.
• Ensure you have root or sudo access to install the Yarn.

How to Install Yarn on Linux (AlmaLinux)

To install Yarn on Linux (AlmaLinux), please follow the below steps.

Step #1. Access your Liquid Web server

Gain access to your Liquid Web server using SSH or another remote access method.

Step #2. Update your AlmaLinux system

The AlmaLinux system must be updated to the latest version before installing Yarn. Use the following command to update the AlmaLinux system.

sudo dnf update

Step #3. Install Yarn on Linux (AlmaLinux)

To install Yarn on Linux (AlmaLinux), use the Yarn RPM package or NPM.

Option 3.1. Using the Yarn RPM package

To install Yarn on Linux (AlmaLinux) using the Yarn RPM package, follow these step.

3.1.1. Enable the Yarn repository

To add the Yarn repository, use the following command:

echo -e "[yarn]
name=Yarn Repository
baseurl=https://dl.yarnpkg.com/rpm/
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://dl.yarnpkg.com/rpm/pubkey.gpg
enabled=1" | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/yarn.repo

3.1.2. Install Yarn

To install Yarn on Linux (AlmaLinux), use the following command:

sudo dnf install yarn

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma ~]# sudo dnf install yarn
Yarn Repository                                                                                                     1.7 MB/s | 316 kB     00:00
Dependencies resolved.
====================================================================================================================================================
 Package                          Architecture                       Version                                 Repository                        Size
====================================================================================================================================================
Installing:
 yarn                             noarch                             1.22.19-1                               yarn                             1.2 M

Transaction Summary
====================================================================================================================================================
Install  1 Package

Total download size: 1.2 M
Installed size: 5.1 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
yarn-1.22.19-1.noarch.rpm                                                                                           8.0 MB/s | 1.2 MB     00:00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                                                                                               7.9 MB/s | 1.2 MB     00:00
Yarn Repository                                                                                                      18 kB/s | 1.6 kB     00:00
Importing GPG key 0x6963F07F:
 Userid     : "Yarn RPM Packaging <yarn@dan.cx>"
 Fingerprint: 9A6F 73F3 4BEB 7473 4D8C 6914 9CBB B558 6963 F07F
 From       : https://dl.yarnpkg.com/rpm/pubkey.gpg
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Key imported successfully
Running transaction check
Transaction check succeeded.
Running transaction test
Transaction test succeeded.
Running transaction
  Preparing        :                                                                                                                            1/1
  Installing       : yarn-1.22.19-1.noarch                                                                                                      1/1
  Verifying        : yarn-1.22.19-1.noarch                                                                                                      1/1

Installed:
  yarn-1.22.19-1.noarch

Complete!

3.1.3. Verify the installation on Linux (AlmaLinux)

To verify that the Yarn is installed, use the following command:

yarn -v

Alternatively, you can use this syntax for the command:

yarn --version

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma ~]# yarn -v
1.22.19
[root@yarn-alma ~]# yarn --version
1.22.19

Option 3.2. Using Node Package Manager (NPM)

To install Yarn on Linux (AlmaLinux) using the NPM, follow these steps:

3.2.1. Install Node.js and NPM

Before installing Node.js and NPM, check available Node.js streams using the following command:

sudo dnf module list nodejs

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma ~]# sudo dnf module list nodejs
Last metadata expiration check: 1:49:55 ago on Sun 25 Feb 2024 08:02:49 AM UTC.
AlmaLinux 8 - AppStream
Name                       Stream                     Profiles                                                 Summary
nodejs                     10 [d]                     common [d], development, minimal, s2i                    Javascript runtime
nodejs                     12                         common [d], development, minimal, s2i                    Javascript runtime
nodejs                     14                         common [d], development, minimal, s2i                    Javascript runtime
nodejs                     16                         common [d], development, minimal, s2i                    Javascript runtime
nodejs                     18                         common [d], development, minimal, s2i                    Javascript runtime
nodejs                     20                         common [d], development, minimal, s2i                    Javascript runtime

Hint: [d]efault, [e]nabled, [x]disabled, [i]nstalled

Then, install Node.js using the following command:

sudo dnf module install nodejs:16

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma ~]# sudo dnf module install nodejs:16
Last metadata expiration check: 1:50:13 ago on Sun 25 Feb 2024 08:02:49 AM UTC.
Dependencies resolved.
====================================================================================================================================================
 Package                        Architecture         Version                                                          Repository               Size
====================================================================================================================================================
Installing group/module packages:
 nodejs                         x86_64               1:16.20.2-3.module_el8.8.0+3653+c77a731f                         appstream                12 M
 npm                            x86_64               1:8.19.4-1.16.20.2.3.module_el8.8.0+3653+c77a731f                appstream               1.9 M
Installing weak dependencies:
 nodejs-docs                    noarch               1:16.20.2-3.module_el8.8.0+3653+c77a731f                         appstream               9.4 M
 nodejs-full-i18n               x86_64               1:16.20.2-3.module_el8.8.0+3653+c77a731f                         appstream               8.0 M
Installing module profiles:
 nodejs/common
Enabling module streams:
 nodejs                                              16

Transaction Summary
====================================================================================================================================================
Install  4 Packages

—-
—-

Installed:
  nodejs-1:16.20.2-3.module_el8.8.0+3653+c77a731f.x86_64                     nodejs-docs-1:16.20.2-3.module_el8.8.0+3653+c77a731f.noarch
  nodejs-full-i18n-1:16.20.2-3.module_el8.8.0+3653+c77a731f.x86_64           npm-1:8.19.4-1.16.20.2.3.module_el8.8.0+3653+c77a731f.x86_64

Complete!

3.2.2. Verify the version of Node.js installed

Once successfully installed, verify the version of Node.js installed using the following commands:

node -v

Or:

node --version

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma ~]# node -v
V16.20.2
[root@yarn-alma ~]# node --version
v16.20.2

3.2.3. Checked he version of NPM installed

To check the version of NPM, use the following commands:

npm -v
Or
npm --version

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma ~]# npm -v
8.19.4
[root@yarn-alma ~]# npm --version
8.19.4

3.2.4. Install Yarn using NPM

Once Node.js and NPM are installed, use NPM to install Yarn globally.

sudo npm install -g yarn

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma ~]# sudo npm install -g yarn
added 1 package, and audited 2 packages in 858ms
found 0 vulnerabilities

3.2.5. Verify the installation on Linux (AlmaLinux)

To verify that the Yarn is installed, use the following commands:

yarn -v
Or
yarn --version

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma ~]# yarn -v
1.22.19
[root@yarn-alma ~]# yarn --version
1.22.19

Install packages using Yarn

To install a package using Yarn, use the following command:

yarn add [package_name]

Replace the [package_name] placeholder as per your requirements.

For example, to install the Express.js framework for Node.js applications, use the following command:

yarn add express

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma sample-yarn-project]# yarn add express
yarn add v1.22.19
[1/4] Resolving packages...
[2/4] Fetching packages...
[3/4] Linking dependencies...
[4/4] Building fresh packages...
success Saved lockfile.
success Saved 38 new dependencies.
info Direct dependencies
└─ express@4.18.2
info All dependencies
├─ accepts@1.3.8
├─ array-flatten@1.1.1
├─ body-parser@1.20.1
├─ call-bind@1.0.7
├─ content-disposition@0.5.4
├─ cookie-signature@1.0.6
├─ cookie@0.5.0
├─ define-data-property@1.1.4
├─ ee-first@1.1.1
├─ express@4.18.2
├─ finalhandler@1.2.0
├─ forwarded@0.2.0
├─ get-intrinsic@1.2.4
├─ has-property-descriptors@1.0.2
├─ has-proto@1.0.3
├─ has-symbols@1.0.3
├─ hasown@2.0.1
├─ inherits@2.0.4
├─ ipaddr.js@1.9.1
├─ media-typer@0.3.0
├─ merge-descriptors@1.0.1
├─ methods@1.1.2
├─ mime-db@1.52.0
├─ mime-types@2.1.35
├─ mime@1.6.0
├─ ms@2.0.0
├─ negotiator@0.6.3
├─ object-inspect@1.13.1
├─ path-to-regexp@0.1.7
├─ proxy-addr@2.0.7
├─ raw-body@2.5.1
├─ safer-buffer@2.1.2
├─ serve-static@1.15.0
├─ set-function-length@1.2.1
├─ side-channel@1.0.5
├─ toidentifier@1.0.1
├─ utils-merge@1.0.1
└─ vary@1.1.2
Done in 2.38s.

Create a sample project in Yarn

To create a sample project using Yarn, follow these steps:

Step #1. Create a directory for the sample project

To create a directory for the sample project, use the following command:

mkdir sample-yarn-project 

Then, move to the directory using the command:

cd sample-yarn-project

Step #2. Initialize a sample project with Yarn

To Initialize the sample project with Yarn, use the following command:

yarn init

Enter details about the sample project, such as name, version, description, and license as prompted. Press the Enter key to accept the default values for most prompts.

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma sample-yarn-project]# yarn init
yarn init v1.22.19
question name (sample-yarn-project): sample-yarn-project
question version (1.0.0): 1.0.0
question description: This is the sample yarn project
question entry point (index.js):
question repository url:
question author:
question license (MIT): MIT
question private:
success Saved package.json
Done in 200.03s.

Step #3. Install a sample package

For example, to install the lodash package, which provides utility functions for JavaScript, use the following command:

yarn add lodash

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma sample-yarn-project]# yarn add lodash
yarn add v1.22.19
info No lockfile found.
[1/4] Resolving packages...
[2/4] Fetching packages...
[3/4] Linking dependencies...
[4/4] Building fresh packages...
success Saved lockfile.
success Saved 1 new dependency.
info Direct dependencies
└─ lodash@4.17.21
info All dependencies
└─ lodash@4.17.21
Done in 2.24s.

Step #4. Create a JavaScript file (index.js) in the project directory

Open the JavaScript file index.js and use the following command:

nano index.js

Then, add the following details:

// index.js
const _ = require('lodash');

console.log(_.capitalize('This is the sample yarn project!'));

Step #5. Run the JavaScript file

To run the JavaScript file, use the following command:

node index.js

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma sample-yarn-project]# node index.js
This is the sample yarn project!

Step #6. Add scripts to the package.json (optional)

To run commonly used commands, add scripts to the package.json file. For example, add a script to run the index.js file:

"scripts": {
  "start": "node index.js"
}

Here is the output:

Then, run the script using the following command:

yarn start

Here is the output:

[root@yarn-alma sample-yarn-project]# yarn start
yarn run v1.22.19
$ node index.js
This is the sample yarn project!
Done in 0.15s.

How to update Yarn

If Yarn was installed using Yarn's RPM package, use the following command:

sudo dnf update yarn

If Yarn was installed using NPM, use the following command:

npm install -g yarn

How to uninstall Yarn

If Yarn was installed using Yarn's RPM package, use the following command to uninstall yarn:

sudo dnf remove yarn

If Yarn was installed using NPM, use the following command to uninstall yarn:

npm uninstall -g yarn

Empower your projects — installing Yarn on AlmaLinux

The installation steps outlined in the article give a simple but detailed tutorial for installing Yarn on on Linux — AlmaLinux — with the added benefit of using Liquid Web products for a seamless experience. These steps allow you to install Yarn quickly and easily on your AlmaLinux servers.

By choosing Liquid Web, you can access robust hosting solutions and benefit from your server management and optimization expertise. This combination ensures a smooth and efficient installation process, allowing you to focus more on your projects and less on setup and configuration. With Yarn and Liquid Web, you're equipped to tackle complex development tasks easily, all while knowing that your infrastructure is in good hands.