diff --git a/src/node/utils/run_cmd.js b/src/node/utils/run_cmd.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f0d7c92d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/node/utils/run_cmd.js
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const childProcess = require('child_process');
+const log4js = require('log4js');
+const path = require('path');
+const settings = require('./Settings');
+
+const logger = log4js.getLogger('runCmd');
+
+const logLines = (readable, logLineFn) => {
+  readable.setEncoding('utf8');
+  // The process won't necessarily write full lines every time -- it might write a part of a line
+  // then write the rest of the line later.
+  let leftovers = '';
+  readable.on('data', (chunk) => {
+    const lines = chunk.split('\n');
+    if (lines.length === 0) return;
+    lines[0] = leftovers + lines[0];
+    leftovers = lines.pop();
+    for (const line of lines) {
+      logLineFn(line);
+    }
+  });
+  readable.on('end', () => {
+    if (leftovers !== '') logLineFn(leftovers);
+    leftovers = '';
+  });
+};
+
+/**
+ * Similar to `util.promisify(childProcess.exec)`, except:
+ *   - `cwd` defaults to the Etherpad root directory.
+ *   - PATH is prefixed with src/node_modules/.bin so that utilities from installed dependencies
+ *     (e.g., npm) are preferred over system utilities.
+ *   - Output is passed to logger callback functions by default. See below for details.
+ *
+ * @param args Array of command-line arguments, where `args[0]` is the command to run.
+ * @param opts Optional options that will be passed to `childProcess.spawn()` with two extensions:
+ *   - `stdoutLogger`: Callback that is called each time a line of text is written to stdout (utf8
+ *     is assumed). The line (without trailing newline) is passed as the only argument. If null,
+ *     stdout is not logged. If unset, defaults to no-op. Ignored if stdout is not a pipe.
+ *   - `stderrLogger`: Like `stdoutLogger` but for stderr.
+ *
+ * @returns A Promise with `stdout`, `stderr`, and `child` properties containing the stdout stream,
+ *     stderr stream, and ChildProcess objects, respectively.
+ */
+module.exports = exports = (args, opts = {}) => {
+  logger.debug(`Executing command: ${args.join(' ')}`);
+
+  const {stdoutLogger = () => {}, stderrLogger = () => {}} = opts;
+  // Avoid confusing childProcess.spawn() with our extensions.
+  opts = {...opts}; // Make a copy to avoid mutating the caller's copy.
+  delete opts.stdoutLogger;
+  delete opts.stderrLogger;
+
+  // Set PATH so that utilities from installed dependencies (e.g., npm) are preferred over system
+  // (global) utilities.
+  let {env = process.env} = opts;
+  env = {...env}; // Copy to avoid modifying process.env.
+  // On Windows the PATH environment var might be spelled "Path".
+  const pathVarName = Object.keys(env).filter((k) => k.toUpperCase() === 'PATH')[0] || 'PATH';
+  env[pathVarName] = [
+    path.join(settings.root, 'src', 'node_modules', '.bin'),
+    path.join(settings.root, 'node_modules', '.bin'),
+    ...(env[pathVarName] ? env[pathVarName].split(path.delimiter) : []),
+  ].join(path.delimiter);
+  logger.debug(`${pathVarName}=${env[pathVarName]}`);
+
+  // Create an error object to use in case the process fails. This is done here rather than in the
+  // process's `exit` handler so that we get a useful stack trace.
+  const procFailedErr = new Error(`Command exited non-zero: ${args.join(' ')}`);
+
+  const proc = childProcess.spawn(args[0], args.slice(1), {cwd: settings.root, ...opts, env});
+  if (proc.stdout != null && stdoutLogger != null) logLines(proc.stdout, stdoutLogger);
+  if (proc.stderr != null && stderrLogger != null) logLines(proc.stderr, stderrLogger);
+  const p = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    proc.on('exit', (code, signal) => {
+      if (code !== 0) {
+        logger.debug(procFailedErr.stack);
+        procFailedErr.code = code;
+        procFailedErr.signal = signal;
+        return reject(procFailedErr);
+      }
+      logger.debug(`Command returned successfully: ${args.join(' ')}`);
+      resolve();
+    });
+  });
+  p.stdout = proc.stdout;
+  p.stderr = proc.stderr;
+  p.child = proc;
+  return p;
+};
diff --git a/src/node/utils/run_npm.js b/src/node/utils/run_npm.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ff2b7b0db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/node/utils/run_npm.js
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const log4js = require('log4js');
+const runCmd = require('./run_cmd');
+
+const logger = log4js.getLogger('runNpm');
+const npmLogger = log4js.getLogger('npm');
+
+const stdoutLogger = (line) => npmLogger.info(line);
+const stderrLogger = (line) => npmLogger.error(line);
+
+/**
+ * Wrapper around `runCmd()` that logs output to an npm logger by default.
+ *
+ * @param args Command-line arguments to pass to npm.
+ * @param opts See the documentation for `runCmd()`. The `stdoutLogger` and `stderrLogger` options
+ *     default to a log4js logger.
+ *
+ * @returns A Promise with additional `stdout`, `stderr`, and `child` properties. See the
+ *     documentation for `runCmd()`.
+ */
+module.exports = exports = (args, opts = {}) => {
+  const cmd = ['npm', ...args];
+  logger.info(`Executing command: ${cmd.join(' ')}`);
+  const p = runCmd(cmd, {stdoutLogger, stderrLogger, ...opts});
+  p.then(
+      () => logger.info(`Successfully ran command: ${cmd.join(' ')}`),
+      () => logger.error(`npm command failed: ${cmd.join(' ')}`));
+  // MUST return the original Promise returned from runCmd so that the caller can access stdout.
+  return p;
+};
+
+// Log the version of npm at startup.
+let loggedVersion = false;
+(async () => {
+  if (loggedVersion) return;
+  loggedVersion = true;
+  const p = runCmd(['npm', '--version'], {stdoutLogger: null, stderrLogger});
+  const chunks = [];
+  await Promise.all([
+    (async () => { for await (const chunk of p.stdout) chunks.push(chunk); })(),
+    p, // Await in parallel to avoid unhandled rejection if np rejects during chunk read.
+  ]);
+  const version = Buffer.concat(chunks).toString().replace(/\n+$/g, '');
+  logger.info(`npm --version: ${version}`);
+})().catch((err) => {
+  logger.error(`Failed to get npm version: ${err.stack}`);
+  // This isn't a fatal error so don't re-throw.
+});