Creating a Node.js project

In this guide, we will build a simple web server using Node.js and Express.

Creating a new folder

Let's start by creating a folder to organise our project. In the file explorer section, tap on the create folder button to create a new folder. Hold the folder cell and rename the folder. You can now assign as it as the workpalce folder.

Assigning a folder as workplace folder

Installing npm modules

In this project, we will be using a third party npm module called Express. Install it by running npm i express in the terminal. You will now see a folder called node_modules that contains the module we just installed. Another file created is package.json, it stores the list of dependencies as well as other information of your project. You can learn more about npm here: https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v7/configuring-npm/package-json

Implementing the server

Creating a web server using Express is super simple. Create a new file index.js and copy the following code.

const express = require('express');

const app = express();
const port = 3000;

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
    res.send('Hello from Express')
})

app.listen(port, () => console.log(`app listening on port ${port}`))

Tap the run button on type node index.js in the terminal to run the server. Launch Safari side-by-side and visit localhost:3000. You now have yourself an Express server :).

An express server running on Code App

To stop the server, press the stop (square) button located at the top right corner of the terminal tab.