Node.js

Three strengths

• Event-driven. It takes the next request while one waits, so many connections can be open at the same time without the system stalling. 1
• One language throughout. Developers who write JavaScript for the browser can write the server side in the same language. 3
• Serverless from day one. When Amazon launched AWS Lambda in 2014, Node.js was the only language the service supported at first. 4

What it is

Behind every app is a server, a computer somewhere else that stores the data, checks the rules and answers requests from the screens on your device. Node.js is the tool that runs that server-side code when it's written in JavaScript, the same language web browsers already use for the screens. It's a runtime (an engine that runs programs): it takes V8, the JavaScript engine at the heart of Google Chrome, and runs it outside the browser. 3

Ryan Dahl started it because he wanted a faster web server, one suited to modern web applications. 2 He released the first version in June 2009 and demonstrated it at the JSConf conference that year, where his 45-minute talk drew a standing ovation. 2 It began as a simple web server called web.js, then grew into a broader framework and was renamed. 2

The clever part is how it deals with a crowd. A traditional server gives each visitor their own worker, which is like a waiter standing at one table until the kitchen finishes. Node.js takes an event-driven approach: it takes an order, moves on to the next table and comes back when the food is ready.

The traditional approach, thread-based networking (a thread is one of those workers), is "relatively inefficient and very difficult to use", and because almost nothing blocks in Node.js, "scalable systems are very reasonable to develop". 1 A 2011 report put the same idea in terms of memory: Node.js uses only a small amount for each open connection, so many connections can sit open on modest hardware. 2

People also choose it for a plain reason: millions of developers already know JavaScript from the browser, so they can write the server side without learning a completely different language. 2 3 When Amazon launched AWS Lambda in 2014, Node.js was the only language the service supported at first. 4

We choose it for those reasons, and because it lets one team and one language cover both what you see and what runs behind it.

How we use it

When we write the behind-the-scenes code of your apps in TypeScript, Node.js is what runs it. That covers the code that connects your systems and the logic behind our React and Next.js web apps.

It does two jobs for you. In Software Development, it runs the rules and data handling behind a web or mobile app, and it's built to scale as your users grow. In Integrations & Automations, it runs the code that moves data between your tools, so your systems stay unified and the workflows keep working as volumes increase. We usually deploy it as serverless code, and add WebSockets when a feature needs live updates.

References

1. OpenJS Foundation, "About Node.js", nodejs.org. https://nodejs.org/en/about (accessed 28 October 2026)
2. Cade Metz, "The Node Ahead: JavaScript leaps from browser into future", The Register, 1 March 2011. https://www.theregister.com/2011/03/01/the_rise_and_rise_of_node_dot_js (accessed 28 October 2026)
3. OpenJS Foundation, "Introduction to Node.js", nodejs.org. https://nodejs.org/en/learn/getting-started/introduction-to-nodejs (accessed 28 October 2026)
4. Neil McAllister, "The Lambda that roared: Amazon unveils hands-free, event-driven compute service", The Register, 13 November 2014. https://www.theregister.com/2014/11/13/the_lambda_that_roared_amazon_unveils_handsfree_eventdriven_compute_service/ (accessed 28 October 2026)