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The first thing to do when
starting a new Node.js project

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is to install the project's dependencies.

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Dependencies are third-party Node
modules used in your project.

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Modules, like Express,
give you a lot of power, so

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you don't have to write a complete
Web application from scratch.

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Let's take a look at how to start a new
Node project, and install Express.

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First things first, I'm teaching this
course using three primary applications

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on a local machine, a text editor,
a terminal or console, and a web browser.

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I have my terminal open here,
I'm on a Mac.

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If you're using Windows,
you can use a command prompt, PowerShell,

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or other command line utility.

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Common free text editors
are Visual Studio Code and Atom, but

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there are many to choose from.

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And you're obviously using a browser
since you're taking this course.

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In addition to the above applications,
you'll need Node and

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NPM installed on your local machine.

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See the Teacher's Notes for
links to installation guides

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if you need help installing Node and
MPM on your machine.

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We'll create all files that we need from
scratch as we go through the course.

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If you follow along with me,

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you should have the same results
as you see in the videos.

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However, if you want to jump
somewhere later on, you can.

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Just download the project files and unzip
them and find the appropriate folder that

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corresponds with the video
that you're starting out.

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I'd recommend copying that folder and

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working with that copy in
case you want to start over.

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You can always just throw it away and
then copy the relevant folder again.

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Check the Teacher's Notes for some
additional tips using the project files.

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Without much further ado, let's begin.

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In my terminal, I'll create a directory
that will hold the Express application

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using the mkdir command.

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Let's call the directory flashcards,
and open the directory

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by using the command cd, and
then the directory name, flashcards.

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Now, to initialize a Node application,
you can use npm init -y.

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The -y just accepts all
the default options.

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Otherwise, you'd have to
type them all by hand.

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For more on using NPM,
check the Teacher's Notes.

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With our package.json generated,
we can install and save Express.

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We'll be using the latest version of
Express at the time of recording, 4.15.2.

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--save adds this package to the
package.json file making it super simple

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to install the applications
dependencies on another machine.

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Now, lets add some code for
our application.

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Depending on the text editor that you'd
like to use, you can usually create

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a new file and launch it in the new
editor from the command line.

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For example, for Atom, you can type atom,
and then space, and then the file name.

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I prefer Visual Studio code, and
its command is code instead of atom.

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Check the documentation for your editor
if you'd like to use this convenience.

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Otherwise, you can simply open
the text editor manually and

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create a new file from the menu.

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I'll type code.app.js.

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You can see the new file
open in the editor.

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App.js will be the main file that
holds our Express application.

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In order to use Express, we must add
it using Nodes require statement.

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The module is called Express and

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it is the parameter that I pass
into the require function.

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In this case,
Express is also an ideal variable name.

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And that is the variable that I
will assign the required module to.

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From this point on, I can use the variable
express to access all the methods and

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properties of the Express module.

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Great work, Express is installed, imported
and ready to be used in our application.

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Next, you'll build your
first Express application.