Features
- Event-driven, non-blocking I/O model
- npm ecosystem with millions of packages
- Built-in ES modules and CommonJS support
- Native test runner and watch mode
Pros
- Massive ecosystem and community
- Battle-tested in production at every scale
- Unified language for frontend and backend
Cons
- Single-threaded limits CPU-intensive tasks
- Callback patterns can lead to complexity
- Slower startup than newer runtimes
Overview
Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome’s V8 engine that brought JavaScript to the server side. Since its release in 2009, it has become one of the most widely used platforms for building web servers, APIs, CLI tools, and microservices.
Its event-driven, non-blocking I/O model makes it lightweight and efficient for data-intensive real-time applications. The npm registry provides access to millions of packages, making it easy to find libraries for virtually any task.
When to Use
Node.js is the right choice when you want a mature, stable runtime with maximum ecosystem support. It excels at I/O-heavy workloads like REST APIs, real-time applications, and microservices where the vast npm ecosystem provides immediate productivity.
Getting Started
# Install via nvm (recommended)
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
nvm install --lts
# Create a simple HTTP server
node -e "require('http').createServer((req, res) => res.end('Hello')).listen(3000)"