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235 changes: 235 additions & 0 deletions docs/docs/00100-intro/00200-quickstarts/00300-nodejs.md
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---
title: Node.js Quickstart
sidebar_label: Node.js
slug: /quickstarts/nodejs
hide_table_of_contents: true
---

import { InstallCardLink } from "@site/src/components/InstallCardLink";
import { StepByStep, Step, StepText, StepCode } from "@site/src/components/Steps";


Get a SpacetimeDB Node.js app running in under 5 minutes.

## Prerequisites

- [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) 18+ installed
- [SpacetimeDB CLI](https://spacetimedb.com/install) installed

<InstallCardLink />

---

<StepByStep>
<Step title="Create your project">
<StepText>
Run the `spacetime dev` command to create a new project with a SpacetimeDB module and Node.js client.

This will start the local SpacetimeDB server, publish your module, and generate TypeScript bindings.
</StepText>
<StepCode>
```bash
spacetime dev --template nodejs-ts
```
</StepCode>
</Step>

<Step title="Explore the project structure">
<StepText>
Your project contains both server and client code.

Edit `spacetimedb/src/index.ts` to add tables and reducers. Edit `src/main.ts` to build your Node.js client.
</StepText>
<StepCode>
```
my-spacetime-app/
├── spacetimedb/ # Your SpacetimeDB module
│ └── src/
│ └── index.ts # Server-side logic
├── src/
│ ├── main.ts # Node.js client script
│ └── module_bindings/ # Auto-generated types
└── package.json
```
</StepCode>
</Step>

<Step title="Understand tables and reducers">
<StepText>
Open `spacetimedb/src/index.ts` to see the module code. The template includes a `person` table and two reducers: `add` to insert a person, and `say_hello` to greet everyone.

Tables store your data. Reducers are functions that modify data — they're the only way to write to the database.
</StepText>
<StepCode>
```typescript
import { schema, table, t } from 'spacetimedb/server';

export const spacetimedb = schema(
table(
{ name: 'person', public: true },
{
name: t.string(),
}
)
);

spacetimedb.reducer('add', { name: t.string() }, (ctx, { name }) => {
ctx.db.person.insert({ name });
});

spacetimedb.reducer('say_hello', (ctx) => {
for (const person of ctx.db.person.iter()) {
console.info(`Hello, ${person.name}!`);
}
console.info('Hello, World!');
});
```
</StepCode>
</Step>

<Step title="Run the client">
<StepText>
In a new terminal, run the Node.js client. It will connect to SpacetimeDB and start an interactive CLI where you can add people and query the database.
</StepText>
<StepCode>
```bash
# Run with auto-reload during development
npm run dev

# Or run once
npm run start
```
</StepCode>
</Step>

<Step title="Use the interactive CLI">
<StepText>
The client provides a command-line interface to interact with your SpacetimeDB module. Type a name to add a person, or use the built-in commands.
</StepText>
<StepCode>
```
Connecting to SpacetimeDB...
URI: ws://localhost:3000
Module: nodejs-ts

Connected to SpacetimeDB!
Identity: abc123def456...

Current people (0):
(none yet)

Commands:
<name> - Add a person with that name
list - Show all people
hello - Greet everyone (check server logs)
Ctrl+C - Quit

> Alice
[Added] Alice

> Bob
[Added] Bob

> list
People in database:
- Alice
- Bob

> hello
Called say_hello reducer (check server logs)
```
</StepCode>
</Step>

<Step title="Understand the client code">
<StepText>
Open `src/main.ts` to see the Node.js client. It uses `DbConnection.builder()` to connect to SpacetimeDB, subscribes to tables, and sets up the interactive CLI using Node's `readline` module.

Unlike browser apps, Node.js stores the authentication token in a file instead of localStorage.
</StepText>
<StepCode>
```typescript
import { DbConnection } from './module_bindings/index.js';

// Build and establish connection
const conn = DbConnection.builder()
.withUri(HOST)
.withModuleName(DB_NAME)
.withToken(loadToken()) // Load saved token from file
.onConnect((conn, identity, token) => {
console.log('Connected! Identity:', identity.toHexString());
saveToken(token); // Save token for future connections

// Subscribe to all tables
conn.subscriptionBuilder()
.onApplied((ctx) => {
// Show current data, start CLI
setupCLI();
})
.subscribeToAllTables();

// Listen for table changes
conn.db.person.onInsert((ctx, person) => {
console.log(`[Added] ${person.name}`);
});
})
.build();
```
</StepCode>
</Step>

<Step title="Test with the SpacetimeDB CLI">
<StepText>
You can also use the SpacetimeDB CLI to call reducers and query your data directly. Changes made via the CLI will appear in your Node.js client in real-time.
</StepText>
<StepCode>
```bash
# Call the add reducer to insert a person
spacetime call <database-name> add Charlie

# Query the person table
spacetime sql <database-name> "SELECT * FROM person"
name
---------
"Alice"
"Bob"
"Charlie"

# Call say_hello to greet everyone
spacetime call <database-name> say_hello

# View the module logs
spacetime logs <database-name>
2025-01-13T12:00:00.000000Z INFO: Hello, Alice!
2025-01-13T12:00:00.000000Z INFO: Hello, Bob!
2025-01-13T12:00:00.000000Z INFO: Hello, Charlie!
2025-01-13T12:00:00.000000Z INFO: Hello, World!
```
</StepCode>
</Step>

<Step title="Node.js considerations">
<StepText>
**WebSocket support:** Node.js 22+ has native WebSocket support. For Node.js 18-21, the SDK automatically uses the `undici` package (included in devDependencies).

**Environment variables:** Configure the connection using `SPACETIMEDB_HOST` and `SPACETIMEDB_DB_NAME` environment variables.

**Graceful shutdown:** The template includes signal handlers for `SIGINT` and `SIGTERM` to cleanly disconnect when stopping the process.
</StepText>
<StepCode>
```bash
# Configure via environment variables
SPACETIMEDB_HOST=ws://localhost:3000 \
SPACETIMEDB_DB_NAME=my-app \
npm run start

# Or use a .env file with dotenv
```
</StepCode>
</Step>
</StepByStep>

## Next steps

- See the [Chat App Tutorial](/tutorials/chat-app) for a complete example
- Read the [TypeScript SDK Reference](/sdks/typescript) for detailed API docs
5 changes: 5 additions & 0 deletions templates/nodejs-ts/.template.json
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{
"description": "Node.js TypeScript client and server template",
"client_lang": "typescript",
"server_lang": "typescript"
}
1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions templates/nodejs-ts/LICENSE
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../../licenses/apache2.txt
21 changes: 21 additions & 0 deletions templates/nodejs-ts/package.json
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{
"name": "@clockworklabs/nodejs-ts",
"private": true,
"version": "0.0.1",
"type": "module",
"scripts": {
"dev": "tsx watch src/main.ts",
"start": "tsx src/main.ts",
"build": "tsc",
"spacetime:generate": "spacetime generate --lang typescript --out-dir src/module_bindings --project-path spacetimedb"
},
"dependencies": {
"spacetimedb": "workspace:*"
},
"devDependencies": {
"@types/node": "^20.0.0",
"tsx": "^4.19.0",
"typescript": "~5.6.2",
"undici": "^6.19.2"
}
}
15 changes: 15 additions & 0 deletions templates/nodejs-ts/spacetimedb/package.json
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{
"name": "spacetime-module",
"version": "1.0.0",
"description": "",
"scripts": {
"build": "spacetime build",
"publish": "spacetime publish"
},
"keywords": [],
"author": "",
"license": "ISC",
"dependencies": {
"spacetimedb": "1.*"
}
}
33 changes: 33 additions & 0 deletions templates/nodejs-ts/spacetimedb/src/index.ts
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import { schema, table, t } from 'spacetimedb/server';

export const spacetimedb = schema(
table(
{ name: 'person', public: true },
{
name: t.string(),
}
)
);

spacetimedb.init(_ctx => {
// Called when the module is initially published
});

spacetimedb.clientConnected(_ctx => {
// Called every time a new client connects
});

spacetimedb.clientDisconnected(_ctx => {
// Called every time a client disconnects
});

spacetimedb.reducer('add', { name: t.string() }, (ctx, { name }) => {
ctx.db.person.insert({ name });
});

spacetimedb.reducer('say_hello', ctx => {
for (const person of ctx.db.person.iter()) {
console.info(`Hello, ${person.name}!`);
}
console.info('Hello, World!');
});
24 changes: 24 additions & 0 deletions templates/nodejs-ts/spacetimedb/tsconfig.json
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/*
* This tsconfig is used for TypeScript projects created with `spacetimedb init
* --lang typescript`. You can modify it as needed for your project, although
* some options are required by SpacetimeDB.
*/
{
"compilerOptions": {
"strict": true,
"skipLibCheck": true,
"moduleResolution": "bundler",
"jsx": "react-jsx",

/* The following options are required by SpacetimeDB
* and should not be modified
*/
"target": "ESNext",
"lib": ["ES2021", "dom"],
"module": "ESNext",
"isolatedModules": true,
"noEmit": true
},
"include": ["./**/*"]
}
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