install node dependencies
npm install
set up your database
- create a new directory where your database will be stored (it's a good idea to separate data and business logic - the data directory should be on a different place than your app)
- start the database server
mongod --dbpath relative/path/to/database
set up environment configuration
copy one of the config files in the config directory and rename it to config.js. DO NOT check in your config.js file into source control. If you make a changes that your team members should be able to see (e.g. introducing a new config variable), change it in config.dev_local.js
cp config.dev_local.js config.js
You can also create more example config files in your config directory, e.g. config.dev_server for your development server.
Note: While it is a good idea to have some configuration available for everyone, it is considered bad practice to check in sensitive data into source control (e.g. credentials for database access)
start the web server
node server.js
Optional: use nodemon for automatic reloading of nodejs instance.