This is a quick post to show you how to setup a simple HTTP web server on your local machine using NodeJS. The web server runs on the http-server npm package, a simple zero-configuration http server for serving static files to the browser, it's started from the command line and doesn't require a server.js file.

Download and Install NodeJS

If you haven't installed Node yet, download the latest stable release of NodeJS from https://nodejs.org and install using all the default options.

Install the http-server package from npm

Install the http-server globally on your machine using the node package manager (npm) command line tool, this will allow you to run a web server from anywhere on your computer.

Open a command prompt / command line window and enter the following:

Start a web server from a directory containing static website files

Change to the directory containing your static web files (e.g. html, javascript, css etc) in the command line window, e.g:

Start the server with this command:

You should see something like the following:

Browse to your local website with a browser

Open your browser and go to the address http://localhost:8080 and you should see your local website. 

NodeJS Development Sydney

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