Node.js Environment Setup & Support

I’m getting started with Node.js on a Windows machine and need hands-on guidance from the very first step. I don’t have Node installed yet, so we’ll begin with installing the latest LTS release, verifying that both node and npm are available globally, and setting up the path variables correctly.

Once installation is squared away, I’d like to walk through creating a small test project, configuring VS Code (or another lightweight editor you recommend), and confirming that packages install and scripts run without errors. If we hit permission or proxy issues along the way, I’ll lean on your troubleshooting skills to resolve them in real time.

By the end of our session I want to:
• have the LTS version of Node.js and npm running from the command line
• understand how to initialize a project, manage dependencies, and use nodemon for live reloads
• be able to debug a simple app and interpret common Windows-specific errors

We can screen-share or follow a detailed step-by-step doc—whatever gets me productive fastest. Let me know your preferred approach and any tools you’d like me to install beforehand so we can dive straight into the setup.