Welcome to the ultimate guide for creating a RESTful API using Node.js! This tutorial will walk you through setting up a server, defining routes, and handling HTTP requests. Let's dive in!
🛠 Prerequisites
- Node.js installed on your machine
- Basic understanding of JavaScript
- Text editor (e.g., VS Code)
🧱 Step 1: Set Up the Project
- Create a new directory for your project
- Initialize a Node.js app:
npm init -y - Install Express.js:
npm install express
🧪 Step 2: Create the Server
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const PORT = 3000;
// Basic route
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
res.send('Hello, RESTful API!');
});
// Start server
app.listen(PORT, () => {
console.log(`Server running at http://localhost:${PORT}/`);
});
📌 Step 3: Define Routes & Endpoints
- Use
app.get()for GET requests - Use
app.post()for POST requests - Example:
app.get('/api/data', (req, res) => { res.json({ message: 'This is a sample API response!' }); });
🧪 Step 4: Test Your API
- Use tools like Postman or
curl - Example request:
curl http://localhost:3000/api/data
📘 Expand Your Knowledge
- Learn about middleware in Node.js
- Explore advanced routing techniques in Express.js
- Dive deeper into database integration with MongoDB in this tutorial