What module systems does Node.js support?
CommonJS with require and module.exports, and ES modules with import and export. CommonJS is traditional; ES modules are the modern standard. Pick one per project and use it consistently to avoid mixing issues.
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More FAQs in What Are Modules in Node.js and Why Do They Matter?
A module is a file whose code is isolated from other files. Whatever you define in a file stays there unless you explicitly export it. Modules let you split a large app into smaller, focused, reusable files.
They let you split a large app into smaller files, each handling one concern like user routes or database models. This makes code organized, testable, and reusable, instead of one giant unmanageable file.
require reads a file, runs it, and returns whatever that file assigned to module.exports. The file's code runs once and is cached, so requiring the same file twice returns the same object, not a fresh copy.
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