Node.js is installed but it’s not usable

I’m using Debian 9.1.0 and I have installed Node.js by downloading the LTS version Linux Binaries (x64).

From the location (where I installed Node.js), I can use it:

$ cd /home/<user>Softwares/nodejs/
$ ./node -v
# displays: v6.11.3

But when I run it outside this location, like:

$ cd ~/
$ node -v

I got the error:

bash: node: command not found

The solution I found on Internet: create a symlink

sudo ln -s ~/Softwares/nodejs/ /usr/local/bin/nodejs

doesn’t help me.

Answer

I’m sharing the solution I found based on the comment of Ken Y-N.

I’m missing 2 steps:

Update the PATH in my .bashrc using:

$ echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/home/<username>/Softwares/nodejs/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc

Run make install

$ cd ~/

$ make install