To get started, we'll need to get on our command-line interface (CLI) again. If you remember Chapter 2, Can We Use JavaScript Server-Side? Sure!, we took a look at Node and npm on the command line. Let's check our version again so we can make a few decisions about our application. On your command line, run node -v. If you have v8.2.0 or greater, you have the option of using npx to install certain packages that are designed to be run only once in the lifespan of a project, such as express-generator. However, if you have a lower version, you can use npm to install one-time-use packages as well as packages that are used in your project.

We'll move forward with npx in this chapter, so if you need to take a quick look at the documentation for npm versus npx, be sure to give yourself some time to do that. In essence, to use npm for one-time packages that shouldn't live inside your code base, for example, a scaffolding tool such as an...