Introduction to Node.js

JavaScript on the server: APIs, real-time services and the npm ecosystem.

Why start here

This is the opening tutorial in the Node.js track. It sets out what Node.js is for, what it is good at, and what the tutorials after it assume you have read.

What you need

Nothing installed yet. Every example in this track runs in the browser compiler, so you can read a page and try the code on the same screen.

How the track is arranged

Each tutorial builds on the one before it. The rail beside this page is the reading order — previous and next follow it, so you can work straight through without deciding what comes next.

Next

Carry on to the next tutorial in the rail. It picks up exactly where this one leaves off.