Node allows you to run your typescript code (once compiled into javascript) outside of the browser. When you install NodeJS, it will come with NPM, a package manager to install other engineers' code.

NodeJS will let you run a local server so that you can access the web app you are building on your machine without having to update a server somewhere else. By doing so you can instantly see the changes you make.

Once you have Node installed you can run

in your terminal, and then run

This will create a starter Next (React) app and start up a local development server to host it that you can access via your browser by navigating to http://localhost:3000