Restart NodeJS Server Automatically With Nodemon

Last Updated : 11 Jul, 2025

If you're building a NodeJS application and want to automatically restart the server whenever you make changes to your code, Nodemon is a great tool for that. It saves you time by eliminating the need to manually restart the server each time you update your code.

Below are the steps to create a NodeJS project and install Nodemon to automatically restart the server.

What is Nodemon?

Nodemon is a utility that monitors changes in files within a NodeJS application and automatically restarts the server when it detects any changes. Instead of manually stopping and starting the server every time you change your code, Nodemon takes care of this for you, saving valuable time and effort during development.

How to Install Nodemon?

Below are the following steps by which we can automatically restart the NodeJS server with Nodemon.

Step 1: Create a New NodeJS Project

mkdir my-node-project
cd my-node-project

Initialize the NodeJS project by creating a package.json file:

npm init -y

Step 2: Install Express

If you want to create a basic server using Express.js, you can install it using npm.

npm install express

Create the app.js file and write the below code.

JavaScript

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const port = 3000;

// Simple route
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
    res.send('Hello, World!');
});

// Start the server
app.listen(port, () => {
    console.log(`Server is running on http://localhost:${port}`);
});

Step 4: Install Nodemon Globally

To install Nodemon globally on your system, run the following command:

npm install -g nodemon

This allows you to use the nodemon command from anywhere on your system.

Install Nodemon Locally (Recommended for Projects)

It’s generally a good practice to install Nodemon locally within your project to avoid version conflicts between global and local versions of Nodemon. To install Nodemon locally, run:

npm install --save-dev nodemon

This will install Nodemon as a development dependency. It will also add Nodemon to your package.json file under devDependencies.

Step 5: Create a Nodemon Script in package.json

To make it easier to run your server with Nodemon, you can create a script in your package.json. Open the package.json file, and under the "scripts" section, add the following

"scripts": {
    "start": "nodemon app.js"
}

This tells npm to use Nodemon to run the app.js file when you run npm start.

Step 6: Run Your Project with Nodemon

Now, instead of running node app.js to start your server, you can use the following command to start your server with Nodemon

npm start

Output

Nodemon will now automatically restart your server whenever you make changes to the app.js (or other watched files) and save them. For example, if you update the message sent by the server, you will see the changes immediately without needing to restart the server manually.

Why Use Nodemon?

We should use the Nodemon for the following reasons:

Automatic Restarts: Nodemon watches your application files and automatically restarts the server whenever there are changes, so you don’t need to manually stop and start it every time.
Improved Development Workflow: By automating the server restart process, Nodemon helps you focus more on writing code and testing functionality rather than managing the server.
File Watching: Nodemon can watch JavaScript files, JSON files, HTML, CSS, and other types of files that might affect your NodeJS application.

When to Use Nodemon?

Nodemon is primarily used in development environments, where continuous code changes and testing are common. However, it is generally not recommended for production environments. For production environments, you may want to use tools like PM2 that are optimized for running Node.js applications in production.

Nodemon’s Benefits for Development

Here are some of the key benefits of using Nodemon for your NodeJS development:

Improved Workflow: Automatically restart your server without needing to manually stop and start it, saving time during development.
Real-time Updates: As you modify your files, Nodemon watches for changes and immediately reloads the server with the new code.
Flexibility: Nodemon offers a variety of configuration options to customize its behavior to suit your development needs.
Speed: By running your server automatically, Nodemon helps you focus on writing code and testing features, instead of constantly restarting the server manually.
Integration with package.json: You can easily add Nodemon to your existing project using the npm or yarn package manager, and automate tasks through package.json scripts.

Conclusion

Nodemon is an essential tool for NodeJS development, helping automate the process of restarting your server every time you make a change to the code. By installing and configuring Nodemon, you can significantly improve your development workflow and focus more on writing code rather than managing server restarts. Whether you're building a small project or working on a large-scale application, Nodemon helps make the process more efficient and seamless.

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AshishkrGoyal

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