How to create a simple HTTP server in Node ?

NodeJS provides a straightforward way to create HTTP servers, allowing developers to build web applications and APIs without relying on external web servers like Apache or Nginx. Let’s explore how to create a simple HTTP server in NodeJS.

Steps to Create a NodeJS Server:

Step 1: Initialize the NPM using the below command. Using this the package.json file will be created.

npm init -y

Step 2: Import the HTTP Module:

const http = require('http');

Step 3: Create a Server using the http.createServer() method to create an HTTP server. This method takes a callback function as an argument, which will be invoked for each incoming HTTP request.

const server = http.createServer((request, response) => {
    // Request handling logic
});

Step 4: Handle Requests:

const server = http.createServer((request, response) => {
    response.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' });
    response.end('Hello, World!\n');
});

Example: After implementing the above steps, we will effectively establish the NodeJS server:

Javascript

const http = require('http');

const server = http.createServer(
    (request, response) => {
        response.writeHead(
            200,
            { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' }
        );
        response.end('Hello, GeeksforGeeks!\n');
    });

const PORT = 3000;
server.listen(PORT,
    () => {
        console.log(
            `Server running at http://localhost:${PORT}/`
        );
    });

Output:

Hello, GeeksforGeeks!