Running your First NodeJS Program

There’s nothing like some practice! In this quick, 5-10 minute exercise, you’ll run your very first (and very simple) program using JavaScript and NodeJS.

Have you Installed NodeJS?

This section assumes you’ve completed your NodeJS installation successfully and are able to run it using your terminal. For detailed instructions on how to install NodeJS via NVM, check out our article here. (TODO: add link)

At the end of this execise, you’ll know how to print your own unique message on your terminal, using one simple command!

1. Create your program file

   First, create a test file. To do this, open the txt editor of choice (notepad in Windows, for example) and input the following code:

   test.js

   console.log("Hello, fujin!");

   Plain text only!

   Make sure you’re using a plain text editor. Otherwise, your program will not run!

   To learn about plain text editing tools, check out our HTML and CSS quickstart.

2. Save your program

   Now save the file as test.js in a location of your choice. These could be your desktop, for example, or any other regular folder.

3. Navigate to the program folder

   Use your terminal to navigate to the folder where you saved your test.js file.

   If you’re struggling to move around using your terminal, you can check out our Terminal Navigation Practice for help figuring out where you are and moving across folders.

4. Run your program

   In the program folder, type the command node followed by the name of the file you wish to run. If everything went well, “Hello, fujin!” will appear in your terminal.

   node test.js

   Hello, fujin!

   Error: Cannot find module!

   Seeing a scary Error: Cannot find module [...]test.js? You may be in the wrong folder!

   You can use ls to see the files in the current directory: tf test.js is not there, you may have taken a wrong turn! Use pwd to check which directory you’re in, and cd [path] to change directory.

Congratulations! You have run your first JS script using Node!

So What’s Next?

With the extensive versatility that JavaScript and NodeJS bring to the table, it’s easy to get overwhelmed!

While you’re welcome to deepen your knowledge on either Node or JavaScript, we suggest you jump ahead into the next article and learn the magic of NPM, Node’s own package manager. This will allow you to access a new tutorial and tons of fun tools, including our go-to static site generator, Astro!