1<!DOCTYPE html> 2<html lang="en"> 3<head> 4 <meta charset="utf-8"> 5 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width"> 6 <meta name="nodejs.org:node-version" content="v14.20.1"> 7 <title>Usage and example | Node.js v14.20.1 Documentation</title> 8 <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato:400,700,400italic&display=fallback"> 9 <link rel="stylesheet" href="assets/style.css"> 10 <link rel="stylesheet" href="assets/hljs.css"> 11 <link rel="canonical" href="https://nodejs.org/api/synopsis.html"> 12</head> 13<body class="alt apidoc" id="api-section-synopsis"> 14 <div id="content" class="clearfix"> 15 <div id="column2" class="interior"> 16 <div id="intro" class="interior"> 17 <a href="/" title="Go back to the home page"> 18 Node.js 19 </a> 20 </div> 21 <ul> 22<li><a href="documentation.html" class="nav-documentation">About this documentation</a></li> 23<li><a href="synopsis.html" class="nav-synopsis active">Usage and example</a></li> 24</ul> 25<hr class="line"> 26<ul> 27<li><a href="assert.html" class="nav-assert">Assertion testing</a></li> 28<li><a href="async_hooks.html" class="nav-async_hooks">Async hooks</a></li> 29<li><a href="buffer.html" class="nav-buffer">Buffer</a></li> 30<li><a href="addons.html" class="nav-addons">C++ addons</a></li> 31<li><a href="n-api.html" class="nav-n-api">C/C++ addons with Node-API</a></li> 32<li><a href="embedding.html" class="nav-embedding">C++ embedder API</a></li> 33<li><a href="child_process.html" class="nav-child_process">Child processes</a></li> 34<li><a href="cluster.html" class="nav-cluster">Cluster</a></li> 35<li><a href="cli.html" class="nav-cli">Command-line options</a></li> 36<li><a href="console.html" class="nav-console">Console</a></li> 37<li><a href="corepack.html" class="nav-corepack">Corepack</a></li> 38<li><a href="crypto.html" class="nav-crypto">Crypto</a></li> 39<li><a href="debugger.html" class="nav-debugger">Debugger</a></li> 40<li><a href="deprecations.html" class="nav-deprecations">Deprecated APIs</a></li> 41<li><a href="diagnostics_channel.html" class="nav-diagnostics_channel">Diagnostics Channel</a></li> 42<li><a href="dns.html" class="nav-dns">DNS</a></li> 43<li><a href="domain.html" class="nav-domain">Domain</a></li> 44<li><a href="errors.html" class="nav-errors">Errors</a></li> 45<li><a href="events.html" class="nav-events">Events</a></li> 46<li><a href="fs.html" class="nav-fs">File system</a></li> 47<li><a href="globals.html" class="nav-globals">Globals</a></li> 48<li><a href="http.html" class="nav-http">HTTP</a></li> 49<li><a href="http2.html" class="nav-http2">HTTP/2</a></li> 50<li><a href="https.html" class="nav-https">HTTPS</a></li> 51<li><a href="inspector.html" class="nav-inspector">Inspector</a></li> 52<li><a href="intl.html" class="nav-intl">Internationalization</a></li> 53<li><a href="modules.html" class="nav-modules">Modules: CommonJS modules</a></li> 54<li><a href="esm.html" class="nav-esm">Modules: ECMAScript modules</a></li> 55<li><a href="module.html" class="nav-module">Modules: <code>module</code> API</a></li> 56<li><a href="packages.html" class="nav-packages">Modules: Packages</a></li> 57<li><a href="net.html" class="nav-net">Net</a></li> 58<li><a href="os.html" class="nav-os">OS</a></li> 59<li><a href="path.html" class="nav-path">Path</a></li> 60<li><a href="perf_hooks.html" class="nav-perf_hooks">Performance hooks</a></li> 61<li><a href="policy.html" class="nav-policy">Policies</a></li> 62<li><a href="process.html" class="nav-process">Process</a></li> 63<li><a href="punycode.html" class="nav-punycode">Punycode</a></li> 64<li><a href="querystring.html" class="nav-querystring">Query strings</a></li> 65<li><a href="readline.html" class="nav-readline">Readline</a></li> 66<li><a href="repl.html" class="nav-repl">REPL</a></li> 67<li><a href="report.html" class="nav-report">Report</a></li> 68<li><a href="stream.html" class="nav-stream">Stream</a></li> 69<li><a href="string_decoder.html" class="nav-string_decoder">String decoder</a></li> 70<li><a href="timers.html" class="nav-timers">Timers</a></li> 71<li><a href="tls.html" class="nav-tls">TLS/SSL</a></li> 72<li><a href="tracing.html" class="nav-tracing">Trace events</a></li> 73<li><a href="tty.html" class="nav-tty">TTY</a></li> 74<li><a href="dgram.html" class="nav-dgram">UDP/datagram</a></li> 75<li><a href="url.html" class="nav-url">URL</a></li> 76<li><a href="util.html" class="nav-util">Utilities</a></li> 77<li><a href="v8.html" class="nav-v8">V8</a></li> 78<li><a href="vm.html" class="nav-vm">VM</a></li> 79<li><a href="wasi.html" class="nav-wasi">WASI</a></li> 80<li><a href="worker_threads.html" class="nav-worker_threads">Worker threads</a></li> 81<li><a href="zlib.html" class="nav-zlib">Zlib</a></li> 82</ul> 83<hr class="line"> 84<ul> 85<li><a href="https://github.com/nodejs/node" class="nav-https-github-com-nodejs-node">Code repository and issue tracker</a></li> 86</ul> 87 </div> 88 89 <div id="column1" data-id="synopsis" class="interior"> 90 <header> 91 <div class="header-container"> 92 <h1>Node.js v14.20.1 documentation</h1> 93 <button class="theme-toggle-btn" id="theme-toggle-btn" title="Toggle dark mode/light mode" aria-label="Toggle dark mode/light mode" hidden> 94 <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" class="icon dark-icon" height="24" width="24"> 95 <path fill="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" /> 96 <path d="M11.1 12.08c-2.33-4.51-.5-8.48.53-10.07C6.27 2.2 1.98 6.59 1.98 12c0 .14.02.28.02.42.62-.27 1.29-.42 2-.42 1.66 0 3.18.83 4.1 2.15A4.01 4.01 0 0111 18c0 1.52-.87 2.83-2.12 3.51.98.32 2.03.5 3.11.5 3.5 0 6.58-1.8 8.37-4.52-2.36.23-6.98-.97-9.26-5.41z"/> 97 <path d="M7 16h-.18C6.4 14.84 5.3 14 4 14c-1.66 0-3 1.34-3 3s1.34 3 3 3h3c1.1 0 2-.9 2-2s-.9-2-2-2z"/> 98 </svg> 99 <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" class="icon light-icon" height="24" width="24"> 100 <path d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none" /> 101 <path d="M6.76 4.84l-1.8-1.79-1.41 1.41 1.79 1.79 1.42-1.41zM4 10.5H1v2h3v-2zm9-9.95h-2V3.5h2V.55zm7.45 3.91l-1.41-1.41-1.79 1.79 1.41 1.41 1.79-1.79zm-3.21 13.7l1.79 1.8 1.41-1.41-1.8-1.79-1.4 1.4zM20 10.5v2h3v-2h-3zm-8-5c-3.31 0-6 2.69-6 6s2.69 6 6 6 6-2.69 6-6-2.69-6-6-6zm-1 16.95h2V19.5h-2v2.95zm-7.45-3.91l1.41 1.41 1.79-1.8-1.41-1.41-1.79 1.8z"/> 102 </svg> 103 </button> 104 </div> 105 <div id="gtoc"> 106 <ul> 107 <li> 108 <a href="index.html">Index</a> 109 </li> 110 <li> 111 <a href="all.html">View on single page</a> 112 </li> 113 <li> 114 <a href="synopsis.json">View as JSON</a> 115 </li> 116 117 <li class="version-picker"> 118 <a href="#">View another version <span>▼</span></a> 119 <ol class="version-picker"><li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v18.x/api/synopsis.html">18.x</a></li> 120<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v17.x/api/synopsis.html">17.x</a></li> 121<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v16.x/api/synopsis.html">16.x <b>LTS</b></a></li> 122<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v15.x/api/synopsis.html">15.x</a></li> 123<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v14.x/api/synopsis.html">14.x <b>LTS</b></a></li> 124<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v13.x/api/synopsis.html">13.x</a></li> 125<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v12.x/api/synopsis.html">12.x <b>LTS</b></a></li> 126<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v11.x/api/synopsis.html">11.x</a></li> 127<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v10.x/api/synopsis.html">10.x</a></li> 128<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v9.x/api/synopsis.html">9.x</a></li> 129<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v8.x/api/synopsis.html">8.x</a></li> 130<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v7.x/api/synopsis.html">7.x</a></li> 131<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v6.x/api/synopsis.html">6.x</a></li> 132<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v5.x/api/synopsis.html">5.x</a></li> 133<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v4.x/api/synopsis.html">4.x</a></li> 134<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v0.12.x/api/synopsis.html">0.12.x</a></li> 135<li><a href="https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v0.10.x/api/synopsis.html">0.10.x</a></li></ol> 136 </li> 137 138 <li class="edit_on_github"><a href="https://github.com/nodejs/node/edit/master/doc/api/synopsis.md">Edit on GitHub</a></li> 139 </ul> 140 </div> 141 <hr> 142 </header> 143 144 <details id="toc" open><summary>Table of contents</summary><ul> 145<li><a href="#synopsis_usage_and_example">Usage and example</a> 146<ul> 147<li><a href="#synopsis_usage">Usage</a></li> 148<li><a href="#synopsis_example">Example</a></li> 149</ul> 150</li> 151</ul></details> 152 153 <div id="apicontent"> 154 <h2>Usage and example<span><a class="mark" href="#synopsis_usage_and_example" id="synopsis_usage_and_example">#</a></span></h2> 155<section><h3>Usage<span><a class="mark" href="#synopsis_usage" id="synopsis_usage">#</a></span></h3> 156 157 158<p><code>node [options] [V8 options] [script.js | -e "script" | - ] [arguments]</code></p> 159<p>Please see the <a href="cli.html#cli_command_line_options">Command-line options</a> document for more information.</p> 160</section><section><h3>Example<span><a class="mark" href="#synopsis_example" id="synopsis_example">#</a></span></h3> 161<p>An example of a <a href="http.html">web server</a> written with Node.js which responds with 162<code>'Hello, World!'</code>:</p> 163<p>Commands in this document start with <code>$</code> or <code>></code> to replicate how they would 164appear in a user's terminal. Do not include the <code>$</code> and <code>></code> characters. They are 165there to show the start of each command.</p> 166<p>Lines that don’t start with <code>$</code> or <code>></code> character show the output of the previous 167command.</p> 168<p>First, make sure to have downloaded and installed Node.js. See 169<a href="https://nodejs.org/en/download/package-manager/">Installing Node.js via package manager</a> for further install information.</p> 170<p>Now, create an empty project folder called <code>projects</code>, then navigate into it.</p> 171<p>Linux and Mac:</p> 172<pre><code class="language-console"><span class="hljs-meta">$ </span><span class="language-bash">mkdir ~/projects</span> 173<span class="hljs-meta">$ </span><span class="language-bash"><span class="hljs-built_in">cd</span> ~/projects</span></code></pre> 174<p>Windows CMD:</p> 175<pre><code class="language-console"><span class="hljs-meta">> </span><span class="language-bash">mkdir %USERPROFILE%\projects</span> 176<span class="hljs-meta">> </span><span class="language-bash"><span class="hljs-built_in">cd</span> %USERPROFILE%\projects</span></code></pre> 177<p>Windows PowerShell:</p> 178<pre><code class="language-console"><span class="hljs-meta">> </span><span class="language-bash">mkdir <span class="hljs-variable">$env</span>:USERPROFILE\projects</span> 179<span class="hljs-meta">> </span><span class="language-bash"><span class="hljs-built_in">cd</span> <span class="hljs-variable">$env</span>:USERPROFILE\projects</span></code></pre> 180<p>Next, create a new source file in the <code>projects</code> 181folder and call it <code>hello-world.js</code>.</p> 182<p>Open <code>hello-world.js</code> in any preferred text editor and 183paste in the following content:</p> 184<pre><code class="language-js"><span class="hljs-keyword">const</span> http = <span class="hljs-built_in">require</span>(<span class="hljs-string">'http'</span>); 185 186<span class="hljs-keyword">const</span> hostname = <span class="hljs-string">'127.0.0.1'</span>; 187<span class="hljs-keyword">const</span> port = <span class="hljs-number">3000</span>; 188 189<span class="hljs-keyword">const</span> server = http.<span class="hljs-title function_">createServer</span>(<span class="hljs-function">(<span class="hljs-params">req, res</span>) =></span> { 190 res.<span class="hljs-property">statusCode</span> = <span class="hljs-number">200</span>; 191 res.<span class="hljs-title function_">setHeader</span>(<span class="hljs-string">'Content-Type'</span>, <span class="hljs-string">'text/plain'</span>); 192 res.<span class="hljs-title function_">end</span>(<span class="hljs-string">'Hello, World!\n'</span>); 193}); 194 195server.<span class="hljs-title function_">listen</span>(port, hostname, <span class="hljs-function">() =></span> { 196 <span class="hljs-variable language_">console</span>.<span class="hljs-title function_">log</span>(<span class="hljs-string">`Server running at http://<span class="hljs-subst">${hostname}</span>:<span class="hljs-subst">${port}</span>/`</span>); 197});</code></pre> 198<p>Save the file, go back to the terminal window, and enter the following command:</p> 199<pre><code class="language-console"><span class="hljs-meta">$ </span><span class="language-bash">node hello-world.js</span></code></pre> 200<p>Output like this should appear in the terminal:</p> 201<pre><code class="language-console">Server running at http://127.0.0.1:3000/</code></pre> 202<p>Now, open any preferred web browser and visit <code>http://127.0.0.1:3000</code>.</p> 203<p>If the browser displays the string <code>Hello, World!</code>, that indicates 204the server is working.</p></section> 205 <!-- API END --> 206 </div> 207 </div> 208 </div> 209 <script> 210 'use strict'; 211 { 212 const kCustomPreference = 'customDarkTheme'; 213 const userSettings = sessionStorage.getItem(kCustomPreference); 214 const themeToggleButton = document.getElementById('theme-toggle-btn'); 215 if (userSettings === null && window.matchMedia) { 216 const mq = window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)'); 217 if ('onchange' in mq) { 218 function mqChangeListener(e) { 219 document.body.classList.toggle('dark-mode', e.matches); 220 } 221 mq.addEventListener('change', mqChangeListener); 222 if (themeToggleButton) { 223 themeToggleButton.addEventListener('click', function() { 224 mq.removeEventListener('change', mqChangeListener); 225 }, { once: true }); 226 } 227 } 228 if (mq.matches) { 229 document.body.classList.add('dark-mode'); 230 } 231 } else if (userSettings === 'true') { 232 document.body.classList.add('dark-mode'); 233 } 234 if (themeToggleButton) { 235 themeToggleButton.hidden = false; 236 themeToggleButton.addEventListener('click', function() { 237 sessionStorage.setItem( 238 kCustomPreference, 239 document.body.classList.toggle('dark-mode') 240 ); 241 }); 242 } 243 } 244 </script> 245</body> 246</html> 247