docs/content/codespaces/setting-up-your-project-for-codespaces/setting-up-your-nodejs-project-for-codespaces.md

title, allowTitleToDifferFromFilename, shortTitle, intro, versions, redirect_from, type, topics, hasExperimentalAlternative, hidden

title	allowTitleToDifferFromFilename	shortTitle	intro	versions	redirect_from	type	topics	hasExperimentalAlternative	hidden
Setting up your Node.js project for GitHub Codespaces	true	Setting up your Node.js project	Get started with your JavaScript, Node.js, or TypeScript project in {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %} by creating a custom dev container.	fpt ghec * *	/codespaces/getting-started-with-codespaces/getting-started-with-your-nodejs-project-in-codespaces	tutorial	Codespaces Developer Node JavaScript	true	true

Introduction

This guide shows you how to set up your JavaScript, Node.js, or TypeScript project {% data reusables.codespaces.setting-up-project-intro %}

Prerequisites

• You should have an existing JavaScript, Node.js, or TypeScript project in a repository on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %}. If you don't have a project, you can try this tutorial with the following example: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-remote-try-node
• You must have {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %} enabled for your organization.

Step 1: Open your project in a codespace

1. Under the repository name, use the {% octicon "code" aria-label="The code icon" %} Code dropdown menu, and in the Codespaces tab, click the plus sign ({% octicon "plus" aria-label="The plus icon" %}).

   

When you create a codespace, your project is created on a remote VM that is dedicated to you. By default, the container for your codespace has many languages and runtimes including Node.js, JavaScript, Typescript, nvm, npm, and yarn. It also includes a common set of tools like git, wget, rsync, openssh, and nano.

{% data reusables.codespaces.customize-vcpus-and-ram %}

Step 2: Add a dev container configuration to your repository from a template

The default development container, or "dev container," for {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %} will support running Node.js projects like vscode-remote-try-node out of the box. However, we recommend that you configure your own dev container, as this allows you to define any particular tools and scripts your project needs. This will ensure a fully reproducible environment for all {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %} users in your repository.

{% data reusables.codespaces.setup-custom-devcontainer %}

{% data reusables.codespaces.command-palette-container %}

1. For this example, click Node.js. If you need additional features you can select any container that’s specific to Node or a combination of tools such as Node and MongoDB.

   

2. Click the recommended version of Node.js.

   

{% data reusables.codespaces.rebuild-command %}

Anatomy of your dev container

Adding the Node.js dev container template adds a .devcontainer directory to the root of your project's repository with the following files:

• devcontainer.json
• Dockerfile

The newly added devcontainer.json file defines a few properties that are described after the sample.

devcontainer.json

// For format details, see https://aka.ms/devcontainer.json. For config options, see the README at:
// https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-dev-containers/tree/v0.162.0/containers/javascript-node
{
	"name": "Node.js",
	"build": {
		"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
		// Update 'VARIANT' to pick a Node version: 10, 12, 14
		"args": { "VARIANT": "14" }
	},

	// Set *default* container specific settings.json values on container create.
	"settings": {
		"terminal.integrated.shell.linux": "/bin/bash"
	},

	// Add the IDs of extensions you want installed when the container is created.
	"extensions": [
		"dbaeumer.vscode-eslint"
	],

	// Use 'forwardPorts' to make a list of ports inside the container available locally.
	// "forwardPorts": [],

	// Use 'postCreateCommand' to run commands after the container is created.
	// "postCreateCommand": "yarn install",

	// Comment out connect as root instead. More info: https://aka.ms/vscode-remote/containers/non-root.
	"remoteUser": "node"
}

• name - You can name your dev container anything, this is just the default.
• build - The build properties.
  • dockerfile - In the build object, dockerfile contains the path to the Dockerfile that was also added from the template.
  • args
    • variant: This file only contains one build argument, which is the node variant we want to use that is passed into the Dockerfile.
• settings - These are {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode %} settings that you can set.
  • terminal.integrated.shell.linux - While bash is the default here, you could use other terminal shells by modifying this.
• extensions - These are extensions included by default.
  • dbaeumer.vscode-eslint - ES lint is a great extension for linting, but for JavaScript there are a number of great Marketplace extensions you could also include.
• forwardPorts - Any ports listed here will be forwarded automatically. For more information, see "Forwarding ports in your codespace."
• postCreateCommand - Use this to run commands that aren't defined in the Dockerfile, after your codespace is created.
• remoteUser - By default, you’re running as the vscode user, but you can optionally set this to root.

Dockerfile

# [Choice] Node.js version: 14, 12, 10
ARG VARIANT="14-buster"
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/vscode/devcontainers/javascript-node:0-${VARIANT}

# [Optional] Uncomment this section to install additional OS packages.
# RUN apt-get update && export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive \
#     && apt-get -y install --no-install-recommends <your-package-list-here>

# [Optional] Uncomment if you want to install an additional version of node using nvm
# ARG EXTRA_NODE_VERSION=10
# RUN su node -c "source /usr/local/share/nvm/nvm.sh && nvm install ${EXTRA_NODE_VERSION}"

# [Optional] Uncomment if you want to install more global node modules
# RUN su node -c "npm install -g <your-package-list-here>"

You can use the Dockerfile to add additional container layers to specify OS packages, node versions, or global packages we want included in our container.

Step 3: Modify your devcontainer.json file

With your dev container configuration added and a basic understanding of what everything does, you can now make changes to customize your environment further. In this example, you'll add properties to install npm when your codespace launches and make a list of ports inside the container available locally.

1. In the Explorer, select the devcontainer.json file from the tree to open it. You might have to expand the .devcontainer folder to see it.

   

2. Add the following lines to your devcontainer.json file after extensions:

   "postCreateCommand": "npm install",
   "forwardPorts": [4000],
   

   {% data reusables.codespaces.more-info-devcontainer %}

{% data reusables.codespaces.rebuild-command %}

{% data reusables.codespaces.rebuild-reason %}

Step 4: Run your application

In the previous section, you used the postCreateCommand to installing a set of packages via npm. You can now use this to run our application with npm.

1. Run your start command in the terminal withnpm start.

   

2. When your project starts, you should see a "toast" notification message at the bottom right corner of {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode_shortname %}, containing a prompt to connect to the port your project uses.

   

Step 5: Commit your changes

{% data reusables.codespaces.committing-link-to-procedure %}

Next steps

You should now be ready start developing your JavaScript project in {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %}. Here are some additional resources for more advanced scenarios.

{% data reusables.codespaces.next-steps-adding-devcontainer %}