Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform, server-side JavaScript runtime environment that allows developers to build scalable and high-performance applications. It was created by Ryan Dahl in 2009 and has since become one of the most popular technologies for building web applications.
Node.js is built on top of the V8 JavaScript engine, which is the same engine used by Google Chrome. This means that Node.js is incredibly fast and efficient, making it ideal for building real-time applications that require high performance.
This cheat sheet provides an extensive list of Node.js commands and their descriptions. The commands are organized into different categories for easy reference.
Table of Contents
Basics
Command Description node
Starts the Node.js REPL node file.js
Runs the JavaScript file file.js
console.log()
Prints a message to the console process.argv
Returns an array of command-line arguments process.exit()
Exits the Node.js process setTimeout()
Executes a function after a specified time setInterval()
Executes a function repeatedly after a specified time clearTimeout()
Cancels a setTimeout()
method clearInterval()
Cancels a setInterval()
method
File System
Command Description fs.readFile()
Reads a file asynchronously fs.readFileSync()
Reads a file synchronously fs.writeFile()
Writes to a file asynchronously fs.writeFileSync()
Writes to a file synchronously fs.appendFile()
Appends to a file asynchronously fs.appendFileSync()
Appends to a file synchronously fs.rename()
Renames a file fs.unlink()
Deletes a file fs.mkdir()
Creates a directory fs.rmdir()
Deletes a directory fs.readdir()
Reads the contents of a directory
HTTP
Command Description http.createServer()
Creates an HTTP server http.request()
Sends an HTTP request http.get()
Sends an HTTP GET request http.post()
Sends an HTTP POST request http.put()
Sends an HTTP PUT request http.delete()
Sends an HTTP DELETE request
Events
Command Description events.EventEmitter
Creates an event emitter object emitter.on()
Adds a listener function to an event emitter.emit()
Emits an event with the specified arguments emitter.once()
Adds a one-time listener function to an event emitter.removeListener()
Removes a listener function from an event emitter.removeAllListeners()
Removes all listener functions from an event
Streams
Command Description fs.createReadStream()
Creates a readable stream fs.createWriteStream()
Creates a writable stream stream.pipe()
Pipes a readable stream to a writable stream stream.on()
Adds a listener function to a stream event stream.pause()
Pauses a readable stream stream.resume()
Resumes a readable stream stream.destroy()
Destroys a stream
Child Processes
Command Description child_process.exec()
Executes a command in a shell child_process.spawn()
Spawns a new process child_process.fork()
Spawns a new Node.js process child_process.kill()
Kills a process process.stdin
A readable stream for standard input process.stdout
A writable stream for standard output process.stderr
A writable stream for standard error
Modules
Command Description module.exports
Exports a module require()
Imports a module __dirname
The directory name of the current module __filename
The file name of the current module exports
An object that is used to export a module
Debugging
Command Description console.log()
Prints a message to the console console.error()
Prints an error message to the console debugger
Stops the execution of a script and opens the debugger
References