🚀 Introduction to GenAI with Node.js

Welcome to Day 1 of my GenAI x Node.js blog series! In this post, I’ll guide you through what Generative AI is, why I chose Node.js for it, and how to make your first GenAI API call using OpenAI’s GPT model with Node.js.

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🧠 What is Generative AI?

Generative AI (GenAI) refers to AI systems capable of generating content—such as text, images, audio, and code—based on a specific prompt. Tools like ChatGPT, DALL·E, Midjourney, and GitHub Copilot are all examples of GenAI in action.

Typical GenAI Use Cases:

• Blog generation

• Code assistance

• Customer support bots

• Image generation

• Voice-to-text and vice versa

• Email replies and summarization

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💡 Why Node.js for GenAI?

As a JavaScript developer, using Node.js feels natural because:

• It’s fast and asynchronous (perfect for API calls)

• Easy to integrate GenAI into web apps or CLIs

• Full-stack JS synergy with React, Next.js, etc.

• Rich ecosystem (npm modules, tools, templates)

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🛠️ Project Setup – Your First GenAI Node.js App

Let’s set up a basic project to interact with OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 or GPT-4.

📁 Folder Structure

genai-node-app/
├── index.js
├── .env
└── package.json

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✅ Step 1: Initialize the project

mkdir genai-node-app
cd genai-node-app
npm init -y
npm install openai dotenv

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✅ Step 2: Set up .env file

Create a .env file to store your API key securely.

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

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✅ Step 3: Write Your First GenAI Code (index.js)

// index.js
const { Configuration, OpenAIApi } = require("openai");
require("dotenv").config();

const configuration = new Configuration({
  apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
});
const openai = new OpenAIApi(configuration);

async function generateText(prompt) {
  try {
    const res = await openai.createCompletion({
      model: "text-davinci-003",
      prompt,
      max_tokens: 100,
    });
    console.log("🧠 AI Response:\n", res.data.choices[0].text.trim());
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("❌ Error:", error.message);
  }
}

generateText("Explain Node.js to a 10-year-old.");

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🧪 Output

🧠 AI Response:
Node.js is like a helper for your computer that can read and run JavaScript code outside of a browser. It's used to make websites work on the internet!

Pretty cool, right?

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🔍 How it Works

• You import the OpenAI SDK and load the environment variables.

• You configure the API with your secret key.

• Then you send a prompt to the GPT model and receive a response.

• The response is printed in the console.

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🧰 What You Learned

✅ What GenAI is
✅ Why Node.js is a good fit for GenAI projects
✅ How to install and use OpenAI’s API in a Node.js project
✅ How to securely use API keys with dotenv
✅ How to generate your first text using OpenAI

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💬 Let’s Connect!

If you tried this code or built something on top of it, I’d love to hear from you!
Drop a comment, share this article, and follow on Github and LinkedIn. 🙌

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