Raspberry Pi Web Server Runs Node.js

(Image credit: PortEXE)

This week, the YouTube tech channel PortEXE released a new Raspberry Pi project—a Node.js web server. The entire setup runs locally on the Raspberry Pi and is easily accessible from a browser window.

If you're unfamiliar, Node.js is an open-source platform designed to run JavaScript. In this case, PortEXE is using it to create a custom web server. This will allow him to host a website and other kinds of server-based applications exclusively on the Pi.

For his web server, PortEXE is using a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. You can run this project on older editions of the Pi, but will benefit from a considerable performance increase by using a Pi 4 with greater RAM capacity. The Node.js server is installed on top of the latest edition of Raspbian, now known as Raspberry Pi OS.

PortEXE recommends using Node Version Manager (NVM)—a Linux-based application used to install versions for Node.js. He used an application called Droppy for its file server functionality. Once set up, the file server was accessible via web browser using the local IP address for the Pi.

While you can easily set up a web server on a PC, this project takes everything and isolates it to a centralized device. The Pi can be easily monitored and rebooted without interfering with other PC functions. If you'd like to see more cool projects, you can check out PortEXE on his official YouTube channel. We also have a tutorial on how to setup your own Apache webserver, which you can see here

Ash Hill
Contributing Writer

Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.

  • tyeth
    Raspberry Pi OS is no longer raspbian, they have changed name deliberately due to the 64bit changeover and incorrect initial naming. Pi zero is not compatible with the new OS for example.
    Reply