Lab · Full-Stack Development

Lab: set up a full-stack project

Labbeginner· about 1.5 hours· 4 steps

The brief

Get your computer ready the way a full-stack team does on day one: Node.js, npm and Git; a notes-app project with dev and test scripts; a Git repository that never commits node_modules or secrets; and a first small helper that the frontend uses to call the backend.

Why it matters

The first morning at any web company (or the first hour of a freelance project) goes into exactly this. Getting the scripts, .gitignore and Git history right from the start avoids the classic beginner disasters: a 200 MB node_modules in Git, or a database password pushed to GitHub for the world to see.

Skills you practise

node, npm and git versions
npm init and package.json scripts
git init, .gitignore and the first commit
building URLs with URL and URLSearchParams

You need

Node.js 20 or newer (LTS) from nodejs.org
Git from git-scm.com
VS Code or another editor
A terminal (PowerShell on Windows)

What you will have at the end

A notes-app folder under Git with scripts and a safe .gitignore, and api-url.js, a tested helper for calling the backend.

How it is marked (rubric, 100 points)

Set up correctlyEvery pasted output passes: tools, scripts and ignored files.	45
Safe habitsnode_modules and .env are ignored before the first commit; no secrets in Git.	25
Working helperapiUrl passes every check, including encoding.	20
Can explainYou can explain what each script does and why .env must never be committed.	10

0/4 steps done

Step 1 of 4

Check your tools

node -v shows version 20 or newer, npm -v shows a version, and git --version shows Git 2.

A full-stack developer needs three tools before writing any code: Node.js to run JavaScript on the server and the build tools, npm to install packages, and Git to save the history of the code and share it. Install the LTS version of Node.js: it is the one hosting platforms and companies use. Open a new terminal after installing, so it finds the new programs.

Run this on your machine, then paste the output below

$ node -v; npm -v; git --version

Your notes: api-url.js

Write down each command you ran. It goes into your project summary.