As developers, we often find ourselves in a repetitive cycle of stopping and starting the server every time we make changes to our code. This process is not only time-consuming but also disrupts the development flow. Wouldn’t it be nice if the server could restart automatically whenever we save a file? Enter Nodemon, a utility that can make this wish come true. In this article, we’ll go through how to use Nodemon to auto-restart your local server and streamline your development workflow.
What is Nodemon?
Nodemon is a utility that monitors for any changes in your source files and automatically restarts your server. It is particularly useful for Node.js applications, where you’d typically use the node command to start your server.
Installing Nodemon
First things first, you need to install Nodemon. You can install it globally so that it becomes available for all your projects:
npm install -g nodemon
Or, you can install it as a development dependency in your specific project:
npm install --save-dev nodemon
Using Nodemon
To start your server with Nodemon, you can simply substitute node with nodemon in the command line:
Instead of:
node index.js
Use:
nodemon index.js
Nodemon will start your application and watch for file changes in your directory. Once it detects a change, it will automatically restart your server.
Setting Up Nodemon in package.json
To make it even more convenient, you can add a new script in your package.json file to run Nodemon:
{
"scripts": {
"start": "node index.js",
"dev": "nodemon index.js"
}
}
With this setup, you can run the following command to start your development server:
npm run dev
Conclusion
Nodemon is an essential tool in a developer’s toolkit for Node.js applications. It not only saves time but also enhances productivity by automating the server restart process during development. With a simple command substitution or a one-line addition to your package.json, you can say goodbye to the tedious manual restarts and focus more on writing great code.
,
