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Yohan Lasorsa
Yohan Lasorsa

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Learn Node.js with this series of short videos for beginners

Getting started with any new technology is hard, and very time-consuming. Node.js being my favorite platform, I've always wanted to give something back to this awesome community. That's why with some awesome friends, we created this series of practical, bite-sized videos about Node.js for beginners, so you can learn the foundations at your own pace.

The full video series is available for free here:
Beginner's Series to Node.js

This series is made from 26 videos, organized in 5 modules. You can either follow all of them as a full course or pick some as you need to complete your skill set.

Introduction to Node.js

You'll learn here what is Node.js and especially why you should learn it. Then we'll see how to set up your Node.js environment, and run some JavaScript with it. We'll also set up VS Code with a few recommended plugins.

Videos:

1. What is Node.js and why you should learn it
2. How to install Node.js on Linux, macOS or WSL
3. How to install Node.js on Windows
4. How to run JavaScript code in Node.js using files or REPL
5. How to set up VS Code for Node.js development

Create a new Node.js project and work with dependencies

Now that you're ready to code, we see how to create new projects and make use of the rich ecosystem of packages. We'll also see how to automate your development task and take care of everything around your
dependencies.

Videos:

6. How to create a new Node.js project
7. How to use NPM scripts for your development tasks automation
8. How to add and remove a dependency in a Node.js app
9. What is a lockfile and why you should commit it
10. How to update your Node.js dependencies
11. How to manage Node.js vulnerabilities

Work with files and directories in a Node.js app

Whatever programming language you use, you always need to work with the file system at some point. These videos will get you up to speed on this fundamental skill.

Videos:

12. How to work with files and directories with Node.js
13. How to list the contents in directories with Node.js
14. How to use filesystem paths with Node.js
15. How to create files and directories with Node.js
16. How to read and update JSON files with Node.js

Build a web API with Node.js and Express

Of one the main selling point of Node.js is its capability to quickly create web APIs, thanks to many popular libraries. In this section, we'll cover the most important concepts of the Express web framework to create a web server API.

Videos:

17. How to build a web API with Node.js and Express
18. How to create a GET API with Node.js and Express
19. How to handle API routing with Node.js and Express
20. How to create an API that receives JSON with Node.js and Express
21. How to create update and delete APIs with Node.js and Express

Debug Node.js app with built-in and VS Code debuggers

Being efficient at finding software bugs is an important skill for all developers. Knowing how to use a debugger well can save you a lot of time, so you'll learn here all you might need as Node.js developer.

Videos:

22. How to run your code step by step in Node.js built-in debugger
23. How to configure VS Code to debug JavaScript Node.js apps
24. How to use the VS Code debugger with Node.js apps
25. How to read a stack trace in VS Code to debug a Node.js app
26. How to use advanced debugging features in VS Code

Want more?

Videos are great for visual learning, but having additional forms of content is always helpful.

To complete the videos, we also have a full interactive Learn path on Node.js with 5 in-depth tutorials covering the same topics.

Tell us your feedback!

Of course, we can't cover every single thing to know about Node.js in these short videos. But we want to give you all the essential knowledge you need to get started on your project.

And more importantly, we're also here on dev.to to listen and help as much as we can! ๐Ÿ™‚

Please tell us your experience, your difficulties and questions, and how we could improve this series in the comments below.

On behalf of the team, THANK YOU for taking this journey with us! ๐Ÿ™

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