Express.js express.static() Function

Last Updated : 03 Dec, 2020

The express.static() function is a built-in middleware function in Express. It serves static files and is based on serve-static.

Syntax:

express.static(root, [options])

Parameters: The root parameter describes the root directory from which to serve static assets.

Return Value: It returns an Object.

Installation of express module:

You can visit the link to Install express module. You can install this package by using this command.
```
npm install express
```
After installing the express module, you can check your express version in command prompt using the command.
```
npm version express
```
After that, you can just create a folder and add a file for example, index.js. To run this file you need to run the following command.
```
node index.js
```

Example 1: Filename: index.js

var express = require('express');
var app = express();
var path = require('path');
var PORT = 3000;
  
// Static Middleware 
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')))
    
app.get('/', function (req, res, next) {
    res.render('home.ejs');
})
  
app.listen(PORT, function(err){
    if (err) console.log(err);
    console.log("Server listening on PORT", PORT);
});

Now, create home.ejs file in views folder with the following code:
Filename: home.ejs

<!DOCTYPE html> 
<html> 
<head> 
    <title>express.static() Demo</title> 
</head> 
<body> 
   <h2>Greetings from GeeksforGeeks</h2>
  <img src="Demo.jpg" width="150" height="100" /> 
</body> 
</html> 

Steps to run the program:

The project structure will look like this:

Note: Demo.jpg is placed in the public folder, as public folder is now being served as static to the server.
Make sure you have installed express and ejs module using the following command:
```
npm install express
npm install ejs
```
Run index.js file using below command:
```
node index.js
```
Output:
```
Server listening on PORT 3000
```
Now open your browser and go to http://localhost:3000/, you will see the following output on your screen:

Example 2:
Filename: index.js

var express = require('express');
var app = express();
var path = require('path');
  
// Static Middleware 
console.log(app.use(express.static(
    path.join(__dirname, 'public'))))

Run index.js file using below command:

node index.js

Output:

[Function: app] EventEmitter {
  _events: [Object: null prototype] { mount: [Function: onmount] },
  _eventsCount: 1,
  _maxListeners: undefined,
  setMaxListeners: [Function: setMaxListeners],
  getMaxListeners: [Function: getMaxListeners],
  emit: [Function: emit],
  .
  .
  .
  .
  locals: [Object: null prototype] {
    settings: {
      'x-powered-by': true,
      etag: 'weak',
      'etag fn': [Function: generateETag],
      env: 'development',
      'query parser': 'extended',
      'query parser fn': [Function: parseExtendedQueryString],
      'subdomain offset': 2,
      'trust proxy': false,
      'trust proxy fn': [Function: trustNone],
      view: [Function: View],
      views: 'C:\\Users\\Lenovo\\Downloads\\GFG 
        Reviewer Internship\\Program\\views',
      'jsonp callback name': 'callback'
    }
  },
  mountpath: '/',
  _router: [Function: router] {
    params: {},
    _params: [],
    caseSensitive: false,
    mergeParams: undefined,
    strict: false,
    stack: [ [Layer], [Layer], [Layer] ]
  }
}

Reference: Offical Documentation

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