NodeGirls: Setting up your project

The first thing we do when starting a new Node.js project is create a package.json file.

package.json is the configuration file used by the program npm, the Node Package Manager. It is used it configure lots of things in your project including package depedencies, automating tasks, and how to publish it as a package.

However the only thing we are going to use it for in this workshop is defining dependencies.

Creating a new package.json file

To create your new package.json file:

Open your terminal (Terminal is at the bottom on cloud9.io, starts with bash)
Make sure you are in the express-workshop-2 folder (Don’t worry if you use cloud9.io. It starts in the project directory as default.)
Run the command npm init -y.

This creates a new file with default values and displays it for you.

Your file will look something like:

{
  "name": "express-workshop-2",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
  },
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "git+https://github.com/node-girls-australia/express-workshop-2.git"
  },
  "keywords": [],
  "author": "",
  "license": "ISC",
  "bugs": {
    "url": "https://github.com/node-girls-australia/express-workshop-2/issues"
  },
  "homepage": "https://github.com/node-girls-australia/express-workshop-2#readme"
}

The syntax in this file is called JSON (pronounced like ‘Jason’) which is short for Javascript Object Notation. It’s a way of representing Javascript data that is easy to read and write to and we use it a lot for saving and sending information. We talk more about JSON in later steps.

Now we have a package.json file, let’s add a dependency.

Go to Step 2

Keyword	Explanation
dependencies	Dependencies are external code packages that are required to run your project.
npm	npm is a “package manager” for Node.js, meaning it allows you to easily install external packages (or chunks of code) published by others and use them in your project.
npm init	The command used to create a new `package.json` file. By default it will prompt the user for information, but using the `-y` flag will cause it to use the default values for each.
package.json	A `package.json` is the file used to store information about a Node.js project, such as its name and its dependencies. Read more here.

Workshop Steps

Challenges

Useful Links

Step 1 - Setting up your project

Creating a new package.json file