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Learn Express.js

A free, project-based course on Express, the framework most Node backends are built on, taught by Tom Chant across about four hours of building APIs and a fullstack app.

Quick answer​

This is Scrimba's free Express.js course, about 4 hours taught by Tom Chant. Express is Node's most widely used backend framework, and the course is squarely practical: you build an API, then a fullstack Express app, and then layer authentication on top. It is a natural backend anchor, best taken once you know JavaScript and have at least seen Node, and it sits on three of Scrimba's career paths.

Is it worth your time?​

Express is the default answer when someone asks how to build a backend in JavaScript, so learning it is rarely wasted effort, and a free, project-based course on it is a strong deal. Tom Chant teaches by building, and the progression is sensible: an API first, then a fullstack app so you see the server and frontend talking, then authentication, which is the topic most learners are missing and the longest module here for good reason.

The honest caveat is the prerequisite chain. Express assumes JavaScript and benefits a lot from prior Node exposure. If you have not seen Node's module system, async patterns, or how a server listens for requests, the early going will feel like learning two things at once. It is labelled Intermediate and means it.

What you'll learn​

Course curriculum

3 modules

  1. Build an Express API69 min
  2. Build a Fullstack Express App57 min
  3. Authentication117 min

The three modules build on each other. Build an Express API covers the core: routing, handling requests and responses, and the middleware model that everything in Express runs through. Build a Fullstack Express App connects that backend to a frontend so you see a complete request cycle end to end. Authentication is the largest block and the highest-value one, covering how to handle logins and protect routes, which is exactly the part most self-taught developers skip and then struggle with on real projects.

Who it's for, and who should skip it​

It fits developers who know JavaScript and want to move into backend work, and it is a good fit for anyone bridging from frontend toward fullstack. It is a path anchor for the Frontend Developer Path, the Fullstack Developer Path, and the Backend Developer Path.

Skip it for now if your JavaScript is shaky or you have never touched Node; do Learn JavaScript and Learn Node.js first. Skip it too if you specifically want a non-Express backend stack.

Prerequisites​

Working JavaScript, including functions and asynchronous code, is the real prerequisite. Prior exposure to Node.js is strongly recommended, since Express runs on Node and the course does not stop to teach Node fundamentals.

Where it fits​

Learn Express.js is the backend framework anchor across three paths: the Frontend Developer Path, the Fullstack Developer Path, and the Backend Developer Path. The natural step before it is Learn Node.js, and a sensible follow-up is hardening what you build with Learn Cybersecurity.

Free or Pro​

The course is free, with no subscription needed to start or finish it. Scrimba Pro is a separate decision that unlocks the structured career paths, coding challenges, and certificates. If you only want this course, you never have to pay.

Strengths and limits​

What it does well: it is free, it teaches the dominant Node backend framework by building real things, and it treats authentication as the first-class topic it should be rather than an afterthought.

Where it is limited: it assumes JavaScript and benefits heavily from prior Node knowledge, so it is not a true starting point, and fast peer help depends on the Pro Discord.

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