Can i run more than one js script at Node.js startup

Question

I would like to run an additional script before the main 'node app' is called. So, i have changed my package.json as follows:

 "name": "application-name",
  "version": "0.0.1",
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
    "start": ["node helloworld", "node app"]
  },
...

Then from command line i run:

npm start

This doesn't work. Is there way to call one script before the another at Node.js startup? Thank you

Answer 1

Don't use an array for the processes. Separate them with a semicolon instead like this.

 "name": "application-name",
  "version": "0.0.1",
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node helloworld; node app"
  },
...

Answer 2

You could do something with child_process, e.g.

// start.js
var cp = require('child_process');

cp.exec("node helloworld", function (err) {
  require("./app");
});

And simply:

"scripts": {
  "start": ["node start"]
}