Setting up the development environment

The IBM® Cognos Analytics custom visualizations CLI tools require you to install the NodeJS runtime environment with a NodeJS package manager (NPM).

Before you begin

Make sure that the following software is installed:

Microsoft Windows PowerShell or CMD on Windows or Terminal on Apple OSX.
NodeJS version 16 for Cognos Analytics versions 12.0.0 - 12.0.3. NodeJS version 20 for Cognos Analytics version 12.0.4. For more information, see https://nodejs.org/en/.

Check the setup of your npm registry:

Note: Your npm registry can be public or private.

If you are using a public npm registry, you must have access to the internet.
If you are using a private npm registry, refer to the npm documentation for instructions on pointing your Node.js project at a private registry.

To use Appsody Node.js stacks in an air gap environment, your private npm registry must contain all the dependent npm modules that are used in the stack. You can discover the list of first-level dependencies in the package.json file in the stack definition. Alternatively, you can run npm ls or inspect the package-lock.json file in an initialized project to see the full list of npm dependencies. Follow your organization's standard procedures for copying npm modules into your private registry.

Installing Node.JS and NPM

Download NodeJS version 16, for Cognos Analytics 12.0.0 - 12.0.3, or version 20 installer, for Cognos Analytics 12.0.4, from https://nodejs.org/en/download/.
Run the installer and use the default settings.
After the installation, restart your computer.
Validate the node and npm installation.
1. Open a command-line interface (CLI). Powershell or CMD on Windows or Terminal on OSX.
2. Run the following command:
```
node --version
```
  The CLI displays the current version of the node. Make sure it meets the prerequisites.

Installing the Cognos Analytics custom visualizations CLI tools

Download the Cognos Analytics custom visualizations command-line tools from[CAserverroot]/bi/js/vida/customvis.tgz.

For example, htpps://CognosAnalytics.mycompany.com/bi/js/vida/customvis.tgz.

In some browsers, the file extension .tgz is recognized as text. Download the file by right-clicking the link and choose Save as and set type to All Files. Do not use the Mozilla Firefox browser to download the file.
In your file browser, navigate to the directory where the downloaded file is saved to.
Open a command-line tool.
- On Microsoft Windows systems Windows PowerShell or CMD.
- On Apple OSX systems Terminal.
Run the following command:
```
npm install -g customvis.tgz
```
On UNIX and Apple OSX systems, you might get a permission denied error. To solve this error, run the following command as an administrator:
```
sudo npm install -g customvis.tgz
```
The custom visualizations CLI tools are installed on your system.
After the process is completed, run the following command to validate the custom visualizations CLI tools.
```
customvis --help
```
The CLI displays the available commands.
In your file browser, delete the file customvis.tgz.