How to install Express.js in VS code in 2025

To install the Express framework on Visual Studio Code (VS Code), follow these steps:

1. Install Node.js

Express is a Node.js framework, so you need Node.js installed.

• Download and install Node.js from nodejs.org (LTS version recommended).
• Verify the installation:

  node -v   # Check Node.js version  
  npm -v    # Check npm version  

2. Open VS Code and Set Up a Project

• Open Visual Studio Code.
• Create a new folder for your project (e.g., express-app).
• Open the folder in VS Code:

  cd path/to/express-app
  code .

3. Initialize a Node.js Project

Inside VS Code’s terminal, run:

npm init -y

This creates a package.json file.

4. Install Express

Run the following command:

npm install express

This will install Express and save it in node_modules.

5. Create a Basic Express Server

• In your project folder, create a new file: index.js.
• Add this code to set up a simple Express server:

  const express = require('express');
  const app = express();

  app.get('/', (req, res) => {
      res.send('Hello, Express!');
  });

  app.listen(3000, () => {
      console.log('Server is running on http://localhost:3000');
  });

6. Run the Express Server

In the terminal, start the server:

node index.js

Now, open http://localhost:3000/ in your browser, and you should see "Hello, Express!".

Optional: Use Nodemon for Auto-Restart

To avoid restarting manually after code changes, install nodemon:

npm install -g nodemon

Then, run your server with:

nodemon index.js

Now, you have Express installed and running on VS Code! 🚀