Express Server Setup in Node.js
From the Express.js REST API cheat sheet · Express.js Basic Setup · verified Jul 2026
Express Server Setup
Create and configure a basic Express server with essential middleware
javascript
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
// Middleware
app.use(express.json());
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
// Basic route
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
res.json({ message: 'Hello World!' });
});
app.listen(3000, () => {
console.log('Server running on port 3000');
});🟢 Essential - Every Express app starts with this setup
💡 Use dotenv for environment variables in production
⚡ Enable cors() for cross-origin requests from frontend
📌 Body parsers (json/urlencoded) required for POST requests
🔗 Related: helmet for security headers, compression for gzip