HTTP & Networking

Node.js as a networking platform

One of Node.js’s defining strengths is its first-class networking support baked directly into the runtime. Before frameworks like Express or Fastify existed, developers wrote HTTP servers using nothing but the built-in node:http module — and that module is still the engine under every framework today.

This module teaches you to work with HTTP at the level that matters: the request/response cycle, routing, headers, status codes, and outbound fetching. By the end you will understand what every framework does under the hood.

What this module covers

Lesson	Topic
HTTP Server	http.createServer, status codes, headers, res.end
Routing	Manual routing on req.method and req.url
Outbound Requests	Global fetch, JSON, error handling
JSON API	Parse body, route, respond with JSON

A minimal server — right now

No npm install, no framework, no config files. This is a complete Node.js HTTP server:

Node.jsOpen in StackBlitz ▸

const http = require('node:http'); const server = http.createServer(function(req, res) { res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' }); res.end('Hello from Node.js!\n'); }); server.listen(3000, function() { console.log('Server listening on http://localhost:3000'); });

Needs the Node.js runtime — open in StackBlitz to run.

Three lines of logic — that is all it takes. The rest of this module unpacks each part.

🟢 The http module ships with Node.js

You never need to install node:http. It is part of the Node.js standard library. Import it with require('node:http') (CommonJS) or import http from 'node:http' (ESM). The node: prefix is the modern convention — it makes clear you are importing a built-in, not an npm package.

Which module do you use to create an HTTP server in Node.js without any npm packages?

express node:http node:net node:fetch

What does the `node:` prefix in `require("node:http")` indicate?

A third-party package from npm A deprecated legacy module A built-in Node.js standard library module An ES module that requires a flag to enable

Which frameworks use `node:http` under the hood?

Only Express Only Fastify Express, Fastify, and most other Node.js HTTP frameworks None — they use native C++ bindings directly

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