Developing locally and deploying NodeJS on Heroku

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Initial NodeJS setup

with heroku toolbelt installed run following in code directory (via Terminal)

npm install
git init
git add .
git commit -am "initial commit"
foreman start

The site is now running, visit in browser localhost:5000

Development

As you program and make changes you only need to save your files and start the server with the command

foreman start

Create a .gitignore file with the content

node_modules

Quick one line to create the .gitignore file

echo "node_modules" > .gitignore

It is a good idea to save your changes as your code progresses

git add .
git commit -am "I made some great code."

Open your browser to localhost:5000

Deploy (first time)

Create a new app on Heroku's Cedar stack, run

heroku create --stack cedar

This will create a new app on Heroku with a funny name, you can rename it

heroku rename <yourAppNameHere>

Commit your code if you have not already, add files if needed

git add .
git commit -am "code is ready to deploy"

Now push to Heroku

git push heroku master