Node.js v27.0.0 documentation

Usage and example#

Usage#

node [options] [V8 options] [script.js | -e "script" | - ] [arguments]

Please see the Command-line options document for more information.

Example#

An example of a web server written with Node.js which responds with 'Hello, World!':

First, make sure to have downloaded and installed Node.js. See Installing Node.js for further install information.

Now, create an empty project folder called projects, then navigate into it.

Linux and Mac:

mkdir ~/projects
cd ~/projects
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Windows CMD:

mkdir %USERPROFILE%\projects
cd %USERPROFILE%\projects
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Windows PowerShell:

mkdir $env:USERPROFILE\projects
cd $env:USERPROFILE\projects
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Next, create a new source file in the projects folder and call it hello-world.js.

Open hello-world.js in any preferred text editor and paste in the following content:

const http = require('node:http');

const hostname = '127.0.0.1';
const port = 3000;

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  res.statusCode = 200;
  res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain');
  res.end('Hello, World!\n');
});

server.listen(port, hostname, () => {
  console.log(`Server running at http://${hostname}:${port}/`);
});
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Save the file. Then, in the terminal window, to run the hello-world.js file, enter:

node hello-world.js
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Output like this should appear in the terminal:

Server running at http://127.0.0.1:3000/
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Now, open any preferred web browser and visit http://127.0.0.1:3000.

If the browser displays the string Hello, World!, that indicates the server is working.