nodemon

1. Install Node.js: Node.js is a runtime environment that allows you to run JavaScript code outside of a web browser. To install Node.js, you can download the installer from the official website and follow the installation instructions for your operating system.

2. Set up a new project: Once Node.js is installed, you can create a new directory for your project. Open your terminal or command prompt, navigate to the desired directory, and use the following command to initialize a new Node.js project:

npm init

This will create a package.json file that contains metadata about your project and its dependencies.

1. Install nodemon: nodemon is a utility that automatically restarts your Node.js application when file changes are detected. To install nodemon, use the following command:

npm install --save-dev nodemon

The --save-dev flag tells npm to save nodemon as a development dependency in the package.json file.

1. Configure nodemon: To configure nodemon, you need to create a nodemon.json file in the root directory of your project. This file allows you to specify any additional settings for nodemon, such as the entry point file for your application or the directories to watch for file changes.

Here's an example of a nodemon.json file:

json { "watch": ["src"], "ext": "js,json", "exec": "node src/index.js" }

In this example, nodemon will watch the "src" directory for file changes with the extensions "js" and "json". When a change is detected, it will execute the "node src/index.js" command to start your application.

1. Start your application: To start your application with nodemon, open your terminal or command prompt, navigate to the root directory of your project, and use the following command:

npx nodemon

nodemon will automatically start your application and monitor for any file changes. If a change is detected, it will restart your application so that you can see the changes in real-time.

1. Development workflow: With nodemon, you can now make changes to your Node.js application without manually stopping and restarting it. This can greatly improve your development workflow as you can instantly see the effects of your code changes.

During development, you can edit your code files, save them, and nodemon will automatically restart your application. This allows you to quickly iterate and test your changes without the need for manual restarts.

Remember to review any error messages or log outputs in your terminal or command prompt to ensure that your application is running correctly.

That's it! You now have a basic understanding of how to use nodemon with Node.js to enhance your development workflow.