Lesson 1 / 28

What is Node.js?

A JavaScript runtime that runs outside the browser.

JavaScript, off the browser

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 engine. It lets you run JS on servers, in CLI tools, and in build scripts — anywhere, not just a browser tab.

Non-blocking by design

Node uses a single-threaded event loop with non-blocking I/O — it can handle thousands of connections without spawning a thread per request.

One waiter, many tables

Think of Node as a single waiter who never stands idle at one table — they place an order (start an I/O task) and move to the next table while the kitchen works.