This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by context menu
Intro
I was trying for a long time to figure out how to host a simple Node.js HTTP server on my internet, for testing purposes. However, I just couldn't find anything on how to do it, but then one day I discovered a simple way to do it.
This way does involve your private IP address, so if you're not comfortable with using it this method will not work for you. However, only people on the same internet as you will be able to access this server.
Requirements
- Node.js installed
- npm installed
- A text editor (I used jEdit, but you can use whatever satisfies your needs)
Setup
In a folder of your choice, create a server.js file. We'll come back to this.
Now we need to make sure we have the http Node package installed.
You can always install it globally, this way you won't have to install it again.
npm i -g http
Programming!
Open your server.js file. In this file, you will want to simply create an HTTP server. If you don't know how to do this, the code is at the end FIX THIS
Now on to finding your private IP address. To do this, you can simply run the command below (in command prompt):
ipconfig
The output of this command:
Windows IP Configuration
Ethernet adapter Ethernet:
Media...
... (some other things you don't need to pay attention to)
Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : lan
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : xx00::0xx:x0x0:00x0:x00x%00
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : <YOUR_IP> **(this is the important one)**
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 000.000.000.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 000.000.00.0
...
Now that you've found that address, just replace the hostname variable's value with this address.
Example:
const hostname = '<YOUR_IP>';
That's it! You can now run the command (in the folder that your server.js file is):
node server.js
It should (if you included this part) say something like this:
Server running at http://<YOUR_IP>:3000
Final result
const http = require('http');
const hostname = '<YOUR_IP>';
const port = 3000;
const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
res.statusCode = 200
res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain')
res.end('Hello world')
});
server.listen(port, hostname, () => {
console.log(`Server running at http://${hostname}:${port}`)
});
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by context menu
context menu | Sciencx (2021-04-12T23:13:51+00:00) Hosting a Node.js HTTP server on your local internet. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2021/04/12/hosting-a-node-js-http-server-on-your-local-internet/
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