Express.js

Run Express.js apps in server mode on Hostinger Node.js hosting, with package.json setup, hPanel settings for JavaScript and TypeScript, and PORT binding.

Minimal, unopinionated Node.js HTTP framework. Hostinger runs Express apps in server mode — a long-lived Node process handles every request.

app_type: express

Server mode

Express is server-only; there's no static mode.

package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node server.js",
    "dev": "node --watch server.js"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.21.0"
  }
}

For TypeScript:

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc",
    "start": "node dist/server.js"
  }
}

Minimal server.js

import express from 'express';

const app = express();
const port = process.env.PORT ?? 3000;

app.get('/', (_req, res) => res.send('Hello from Express'));

app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Listening on ${port}`);
});

hPanel settings

Plain JavaScript:

Field	Value
Application type	express
Build script	— (leave blank)
Output directory	— (leave blank)
Entry file	server.js

TypeScript:

Field	Value
Application type	express
Build script	build
Output directory	dist
Entry file	dist/server.js

Static mode

Not applicable. If you want to serve static assets alongside Express, use express.static('public') inside your server.

Notes

• Bind to process.env.PORT, not a hardcoded port. Hostinger assigns a port at runtime; hardcoding causes conflicts.

• For production, enable gzip and security headers:

  import compression from 'compression';
  import helmet from 'helmet';
  app.use(compression());
  app.use(helmet());

• Process auto-restart: if your app crashes, Hostinger restarts it.

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Last updated: July 21, 2026