Start Backend with Express — Commands & Meaning

Follow these professional steps to set up your Node + Express backend correctly.

1. Create a backend folder

This folder will contain all your backend files, keeping it separate from the frontend.

mkdir backend
cd backend

2. Initialize Node project

This creates package.json which stores dependencies & project config.

npm init -y

3. Create main file

index.js will be your backend server’s entry point.

touch index.js

4. Install Express

Add Express to handle APIs, routing, and server logic.

npm install express

5. Setup server & test API

Paste this into index.js and run it.

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

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send("Backend server is running successfully!");
});

const PORT = 5000;
app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`);
});