3.1 – Node JS Install & Project Setup

In this section, you will learn how to install Node.js on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and how to set up a simple TypeScript-based Express project.

🚀 Step 1: Node JS Install (Windows / macOS / Linux)

Before setting up a Node.js project, you need to install Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager).

✅ For Windows (Recommended)

1. Go to the official Node.js website: https://nodejs.org

2. Download the LTS (Long-Term Support) version for Windows.

3. Run the installer:

   • Accept the license

   • Click “Next” on all default steps

   • Enable “Automatically install necessary tools” (optional, for advanced usage)

4. Once installed, open Command Prompt and verify installation:

node -v
npm -v

If these commands return versions (e.g., v20.11.1), Node.js is installed correctly.

🖥️ For macOS

Install Homebrew (if not already installed):

/bin/bash -c “$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)”

Then install Node.js:

brew install node

node -v
npm -v

🐧 For Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nodejs npm -y

Or use NodeSource for latest versions:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash –
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Verify installation:

node -v
npm -v

🛠️ Step 2: Create Project Directory

⚠️ All the following commands assume you’re using Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (macOS/Linux).

mkdir nodejs-project
cd nodejs-project

📦 Step 3: Initialize package.json

Create a package.json file using:

nodejs-project > npm init

Follow the prompts or press Enter to accept defaults. It will generate a file like this:

{
“name”: “nodejs-project”,
“version”: “1.0.0”,
“main”: “index.js”,
“scripts”: {
“test”: “echo \”Error: no test specified\” && exit 1″
},
“license”: “ISC”
}

📌 What is the "scripts" section?

“scripts”: {
“test”: “echo \”Error: no test specified\” && exit 1″
}

🧾 Step 4: Update package.json Scripts

Open package.json and replace the scripts and main fields like this:

“main”: “src/index.ts”,
“scripts”: {
“start”: “nodemon –exec ts-node src/index.ts”
}

📌 Explanation:

• start: Runs your app using nodemon, which monitors for file changes.

• ts-node: Executes TypeScript files directly without compiling to JS.

📥 Step 5: Install Dependencies

Run this command to install all the required packages:

nodejs-project > npm install express
nodejs-project >  npm install –save-dev typescript ts-node nodemon @types/node @types/express

📚 Package Breakdown

📁 Step 6: Create Project Structure

Create a src folder and an entry file:

nodejs-project > mkdir src
nodejs-project > echo. > src\index.ts

Create a index.ts file

✍️ Step 7: Add Express Server Code

Open src/index.ts and paste the following code:

import * as express from ‘express’;
const app: express.Application = express();
app.listen(5000, () => {
console.log(‘Server is running at port 5000’);
});

Step 8: Add TypeScript Configuration

Download the tsconfig.json file and place it in the root of your project directory.
Download tsconfig.json

📁 Final Project Structure

nodejs-project/
│
├── node_modules/ # Installed dependencies
│
├── src/ # Source code
│ └── index.ts # Entry point of the application
│
├── package.json # Project metadata and dependencies
├── package-lock.json # Dependency lockfile
├── tsconfig.json # TypeScript configuration

▶️ Step 9: Start the Server

Start your server using:

nodejs-project > npm start

You should see:

Server is running at port 5000

Any changes you make will automatically restart the server — thanks to nodemon.

✅ Summary

In this lesson, you learned:

• How to install Node.js on Windows, macOS, and Linux (🟢 Node JS Install)

• How to set up a Node.js + TypeScript project

• How to run and auto-restart a server using nodemon and ts-node