Node.js — Get Started

Installation

Windows

Download from nodejs.org and run installer.

macOS

brew install node

Linux

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Verify Installation

node --version
npm --version

First Script

// hello.js
console.log('Hello, World!');
console.log('Node.js version:', process.version);

node hello.js

package.json

npm init -y

{
  "name": "my-app",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node index.js",
    "dev": "nodemon index.js"
  }
}

Running Scripts

node app.js              # Run file
node -e "console.log(1)" # Run code
node --watch app.js      # Watch for changes

Mini Practice

1. Install Node.js
2. Create and run a script
3. Initialize a project with npm
4. Use npm scripts

Up Next

Continue with REPL — the interactive JavaScript shell.