Install Express and Socket.IO
Now install the packages required by the application.
We need two main dependencies:
express: Creates the HTTP server application and handles HTTP routes.socket.io: Provides real-time event communication.
We will also use dotenv to load environment variables and cors only if we later separate the frontend and backend origins.
For this initial implementation, the frontend will be served by Express from the same origin, so separate CORS configuration is unnecessary.
Install Dependencies
npm install express socket.io dotenvInstalls Express, the Socket.IO server package, and dotenv for environment configuration.
Key Takeaways
Express handles HTTP requests.
Socket.IO handles real-time communication.
dotenv loads environment configuration.