diff -ru a/src/bokeh/util/compiler.py b/src/bokeh/util/compiler.py
--- a/src/bokeh/util/compiler.py
+++ b/src/bokeh/util/compiler.py
@@ -411,8 +411,8 @@
     raise RuntimeError(f'node.js v{version_repr} or higher is needed to allow compilation of custom models ' +
                        '("conda install nodejs" or follow https://nodejs.org/en/download/)')
 
-_nodejs = None
-_npmjs = None
+_nodejs = "@node_bin@"
+_npmjs = "@npm_bin@"
 
 def _nodejs_path() -> str:
     global _nodejs