After you've set up Node.js on your machine, the first thing you'll probably want to do is create a new project and start coding. And to get more efficient at the job, there are two important things that you'll need to be fluent with: Automating your development tasks Using and managing your packages Packages in particular are one of the key reasons the Node.js ecosystem is shining. There are packages for about . But managing your packages can become tricky over time, even scary. Taking care of updates without breaking your project or be aware of potential vulnerabilities that may affect your project is something you'll have to look at. everything To help you get up to speed on these topics, my friend will be our host here, with short videos that runs for less than 5 min each. Jen Looper What you'll learn Create a new Node.js project Use NPM scripts for your development tasks automation Add and remove dependencies What is the lockfile and why commit it Take care of dependencies updates Manage Node.js vulnerabilities Additional learning resources Interactive in-depth tutorial on Node.js dependencies npm init docs npm scripts docs npm run script docs npm audit docs Create a new Node.js project Using the command is the faster way to create a new Node.js project from scratch. Let's walk through the different fields you're asked to fill and what's their purpose. npm init Use NPM scripts for your development tasks automation Every project has its set of tasks you repeat daily, like starting your app, building it, running the tests, linting your code to catch issues. Using NPM scripts is the most common way of automating your development tasks these days, so let's have a look at how you can set it up on your app. Add and remove a dependencies One of the secrets of being an efficient developer is to not reinvent the wheel all the time. Packages (also called *dependencies*) can help you focus on writing the code that has the most value for your app by providing all the tools and helpers you need to get your app rolling. What is a lockfile and why commit it When looking at this file, it can seem a bit strange and not really useful at first. It's also a major source of problems when working in a team if it's not taken care of properly. Let's talk a bit about why it's useful, and why you should also commit this file in your repository. package-lock.json Take care of dependencies updates It can make your head spin a bit at first, but you're going to use a lot of packages in your app. And all these packages get updated constantly, with new features, bug fixes or security patches. Trying to keep your app up-to-date may be challenging, especially if you don't want to break your code in the process. Manage Node.js vulnerabilities Vulnerabilities can be a serious threat to any application. At some point, we all freak out when seeing an NPM message saying that you have more than a hundred of vulnerabilities in your app (my current record on a legacy project is over 40k+ 😱). But don't worry - or at least not immediately - as there are strategies to fix or mitigates these issues. And sometimes, you can also safely ignore them, so let's have a look at it. What's next That's it for this post, that was already quite a lot to cover. Of course, every one of these videos could make up for an in-depth article of its own as there's only so much that can be covered under 5 minutes. If you would like to deepen your knowledge around packages, you can take a look at this . Thanks for reading! Interactive in-depth tutorial on Node.js dependencies Also published here .

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