help

Help

How do I do X?

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Quick - What Do You Need?

Need	Go To
Run something	# Run
Understand code	# Read
Fix something	# Debug
Check something	# Verify
Build something	# Build
Find something	# Search

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Run

I want to run this project

# Check package.json for scripts
cat package.json | grep -A20 '"scripts"'

# Common commands
npm install
npm run dev
npm test
npm run build
npm start

I want to add a script

# Edit scripts in package.json
nano package.json

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Read

I want to understand this code

1. Find entry point:

# CLI: main file
head -20 bin/*

# Library: main export
grep "^module.exports" lib/*.js | head -10

2. Trace what happens:

• Read top to bottom
• Functions call functions
• Find where data comes from/goes to

3. Check dependencies:

# What does it use?
grep -h "^const\|^import" *.js | sort -u

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Debug

It's not working

1. Check error message - Read what it says
2. Find the error - grep for it
3. Check recent changes - git diff
4. Check env - variables set?
5. Run with debug - NODE_DEBUG=* node app.js

Common fixes:

Error	Fix
Cannot find module	npm install
Syntax error	Check line number
Auth error	Check API keys
Port in use	Kill process: lsof -i :port

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Verify

Check if something works

# Test the thing
npm test

# Check output
node file.js

# Verify version
node -v
npm -v

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Build

I want to build/deploy

1. Check build command:

grep build package.json

2. Common builds:

npm run build      # Frontend
npm run package  # Backend

3. Deploy:

npm publish      # npm
git push        # deploy

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Search

Find something in code

# Find string
grep -r "string" .

# Find function
grep -r "function name" .

# Find file
find . -name "*.js"

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Output

When asking for help, include:

1. What you're trying to do
2. What you tried
3. What happened
4. Environment (node -v, npm -v)

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Role: Helper Input: What you need Output: How to do it