Visual Studio supports developing and debugging JavaScript and TypeScript applications in Node.js without the need to install any additional components other than your preferred version of Node.js.
Everything you need to know to setup your environment and start working is in the Requirements section. When you are ready to create your first project, see the projects section for information on available project templates.
There are two main ways to work on Node.js projects in Visual Studio:
Using a project file - Project file provide additional meta data for the editor and enable you to easily manage npm packages, use the interactive window to experiment with code, and run and debug tests for several unit test frameworks.
Open any folder of code - If you prefer to work without a project file, Visual Studio also supports just opening a folder of code. In this scenario editing, debugging, and managing npm packages is supported.
Node Tools for Visual Studio is an open source. For more information about ways to contribute, see our GitHub repo.