REPL is an abbreviation for read–eval–print loop. It’s a program that loops, or repeatedly cycles, through three different states: a read state where the program reads input from a user, the eval state where the program evaluates the user’s input, and the print state where the program prints out its evaluation to a console. Then it loops through these states again.

When you install Node, it comes with a built-in JavaScript REPL. You can access the REPL by typing the command node (with nothing after it) into the terminal and hitting enter. A > character will show up in the terminal, indicating the REPL is running and prompting your input. The Node REPL will evaluate your input line by line.

By default, you indicate the input is ready for eval when you hit enter. If you’d like to type multiple lines and then have them evaluated at once, you can type .editor while in the REPL. Once in “editor” mode, you can type control + d when you’re ready for the input to be evaluated. Each session of the REPL has a single shared memory; you can access any variables or functions you define until you exit the REPL.

A REPL can be extremely useful for performing calculations, learning a language, and developing code. It’s a place where you can explore language features and try things out while receiving immediate feedback. Figuring out how to do this outside of the browser or a website can be really empowering.

The Node environment contains a number of Node-specific global elements in addition to those built into the JavaScript language. Every Node-specific global property sits inside the the Node global object. This object contains a number of useful properties and methods that are available anywhere in the Node environment.

Let’s try out the Node REPL. This will be a good way for you to explore the Node global object!