Express.js - Create Project

In this tutorial we see how to creating a project with Express.js and how to set up a Node.js environment, install Express, organize folder structures, and build your first Express.js application.

Initialize the Project

Create project directory and initialize with the given command

mkdir my-app
cd my-app
npm init -y

D:>mkdir my-app
D:>cd my-app
D:\my-app>npm init -y
Wrote to D:\my-app\package.json:
{
  "name": "my-app",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
  },
  "keywords": [],
  "author": "",
  "license": "ISC"
}

Install Express.js

Install Express.js with the npm command

npm install express

D:\my-app>npm install express
added 65 packages, and audited 66 packages in 3s
13 packages are looking for funding
  run `npm fund` for details

found 0 vulnerabilities
npm notice
npm notice New minor version of npm available! 10.2.3 -> 10.8.3
npm notice Changelog: https://github.com/npm/cli/releases/tag/v10.8.3
npm notice Run npm install -g npm@10.8.3 to update!
npm notice

Folder Structure

Create the Server

In your project directory, create a file named index.js.

Express.js setup project create server folder structure

node_modules - This folder contains all the dependencies and packages that your project needs. It is automatically created when you run npm install express command.
index.js - The main file that starts your app.
package.json - Contains info about your project.
package-lock.json - It is automatically generated and updated by npm. Specifies the exact versions of every dependency and sub-dependency installed, including non-direct dependencies.

Basic Express.js Example

// Import the express module
const express = require('express');

// Create an instance of an Express application
const app = express();

// Route to handle GET request at the root URL
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
    res.send('Welcome to Express.js!');
});

// Define a port number for the server
const PORT = 5000;

// Start the server and listen on the specified port
app.listen(PORT, () => {
    console.log(`Server is running on http:// localhost:${PORT}`);
});

Run the Server

Run the server using the command given below.

node index.js

D:\my-app>node index.js
Server is running on http://localhost:5000

Output

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Examples