Node.js: The Documentary | An origin story

What young Ryan Dahl probably didn't expect was how much forking drama would follow.

Follow the cast:

Follow us:

04:50-09:44 Isaac Schlueter and the creation of npm
13:10-14:27 Maintaining projects in 2009
14:27-17:38 Corporate sponsorship and growth
17:38-18:45 Bert Belder's DB migration
18:45-22:37 First phase at Joyent
29:58-34:11 Ryan leaving, Isaac takes over
34:11-36:23 Myles Borins' art project
36:23-39:42 Changes in the team
39:42-49:40 Releases slowing down and Node Forward
53:32-59:20 Mending the fork and Foundation
59:20-1:00:40 Afterthoughts
01:02:07-01:02:48 Credits

[pierreyves.lebrun]

I was planning to go watch Dune 2 at the theatre this evening but this has higher priority now :D

[jomoju]

30 minutes of history, 20 minutes of corporate drama. This is the best movie ever

[abhishekdas]

Node.js has helped me earn my bread, open up a new world of possibilities for me. Thank you Ryan.

[UliTroyo]

I love that Honeypot’s documentaries are so good that everyone wants one about their fondest dev tech.

[palbijewar]

Node.js gave me a career. No matter what new tech tools I learn, I'll forever be grate full and still amazed about node.js and its capabilities.✨

[scottcorgan]

node.js changed my professional life. will always be thankful

[Kane]

I have zero no knowledge or intention of starting to use JavaScript or Node. But only a pleb wouldn’t love the celebration of people coming together to do cool stuff… awesome video

[robertm]

The first time I used Node, I opened a support case with AWS to report that my Lambda function code was not advancing past the callback line. The support guy must have chuckled, but he sent me some links to learn async programming, and I was hooked. Fantastic documentary!

[wgetdj]

I believe that these documentaries are among the most effective methods to inspire developers to learn and craft exceptional products. Each of them is a true gem, offering valuable insights and motivation.

[matsrygaard]

These honeypot documentaries are truly an amazing contribution to human culture - a part of it that touches so many, but so seldom treated with the love it deserves. A big thank you to the honeypot team from a kitchen in Stockholm!

[krippri]

Wonderful! I started getting into Node.js in fall of 2014 for a project with a Raspberry Pi. I transitioned some code from PHP that was running with Apache (heavy for an old Pi) and saw such a drastic reduction in CPU and resource usage that I was hooked. Load average plummeted from 0.55-0.85 to 0.01-0.06. Then I started leveraging more Node.js-style design idioms, and haven't looked back. It powers the web interface for my sensors, manages my music, lets me control my own live stream, and more. I even have an isolated instance of Node.js v0.10.36 on an old board that is still running reliably. Currently, I’m on Node.js v20 on a Raspberry Pi 4 with 64-bit Debian Bookworm, and the performance improvements are remarkable! A big thank you to the amazing community and for this insightful, moving documentary on such a transformational technology!

[byte_easel]

really really love how you guys get access to the creators of the frameworks themselves and the level of effort that goes into storytelling/narrating, editing, and even cinematography. i feel so so inspired everytime i watch these. the one that last had me the most motivated was that graphQL documentary

[aladeadeseun]

Node has help me to come up with my first app and got me my first job. Thanks to Ryan, npm and everyone that made Node one of the best backend framework. My next app currently loading.

[jaicarey]

I never thought this day would come..
But after, what, nearly a decade..? I have decided to enable YouTube notifications on my phone for the first time and I clicked that little bell icon.

I am just a hobbyist, but I have always loved writing software (even if I'm not that great). And I don't suspect that this will ever change.

This documentary is so very inspiring for me.

I have always been a bit fearful of contributing to open source projects.. I would probably use excuses such as a missing software engineering title, or that I'm "self taught".
Ultimately, I think it mostly just boils down to ego; Enjoying the blissful feeling of being a big fish in the little pond that is my own mind.. (lol?)

But after watching this video, I have set myself a goal to make at least one pull request this year and see what happens.
And if for some reason I remember this post, I'll let the invested readers know how I went.

[vectoralphaSec]

I LOVED the Ruby on Rails documentary and the React JS Documentary. This is going to be awesome. PLEASE, PLEASE!! make one on Django also one day. I would love to see a documentary on the Django framework.

[Trails]

I have a lot to thank for Ryan + all the contributors to Node. When I was studying in college, the main programming language was Java and basically just built toy apps that wouldn't really teach students anything. I wanted to build something for myself and I started learning Node. That learning ended up landing my first job. I am now 7+ years in the industry, but it all started from Node.js

[Xidatosar]

Probably the most artistic and skillful piece of media I've seen about software industry. Re-ignited my passion for node instantly.

[RealmofTech]

Node.Js change the history of developers ❤

[aiedenoldstien]

I'm kind of glad DarkViper talked about the whole drama. I would've never found this amazing documentary otherwise.

[muhammadvidi]

able to use node made me land my first job ever..forever gratitude towards this software and the history behind it..thankyou so much!