Introduction to Node.js

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime that allows you to run JavaScript outside the browser.
It is built on Chrome’s high-performance V8 engine and is used to build fast, scalable applications.

In this lesson, we’ll introduce the core idea behind Node.js and why it has become such an important tool in modern web development.

What is Node.js?

Before Node.js, JavaScript could only run inside web browsers.
Node.js changed that by making JavaScript available on the server.

This allows developers to use JavaScript to:

• build backend APIs
• work with files and databases
• create command-line tools
• power modern development tooling

Why use Node.js?

Node.js is designed to handle many tasks efficiently using an event-driven, non-blocking model.

This makes it a strong choice for:

• real-time applications
• APIs with many concurrent users
• developer tools and build systems

How does Node.js fit into the ecosystem?

Even if you don’t plan to write backend code, Node.js is essential to understand because many frontend tools and frameworks depend on it.

Learning Node.js helps you understand how modern web applications are built and deployed.

What you’ll learn next

In the next lessons, you’ll explore:

• how Node.js works internally
• how modules and packages are managed
• how Node.js is used in real projects

Let’s get started.