Why can't nodejs use port 80?

Node.js is a development framework that can be easily integrated with web applications. Choosing your computer's port is critical when developing and deploying web applications. For Node.js applications, it is usually not possible to use port 80. This is because port 80 belongs to a special area in Unix/Linux systems.

Normally, only the root user can use ports 0 to 1023, while other users can only use ports 1024 and later. This is because for security reasons, the operating system prohibits ordinary users from running some dangerous operations, such as opening ports necessary to start system processes.

For Node.js, it runs under a specific user permissions. If it needs to use port 80, it needs to be run with root privileges. But in Linux systems, using root privileges to run applications is very dangerous because it may leave the door open for attackers to use this privilege to open other unauthorized ports.

Therefore, in order to ensure the security of the system, Node.js does not allow direct use of port 80. Instead, it uses a technology called "proxying." This technology can redirect incoming port 80 requests to another port, such as 8000 or other ports.

When using "proxy" technology, you can use some specialized tools to complete this process, such as Nginx or Apache. These tools can forward incoming port 80 requests to a specific port, such as port 8000, and return the results to the user. For Node.js applications, this means that they can run on port 8000 without the user being aware of any difference between them and port 80.

Apart from this, there are some other solutions to solve this problem. For example, you can use Linux's iptables to complete the port forwarding process. But no matter which method is adopted, you need to carefully choose the correct configuration to ensure the security and stability of the system.

To sum up, Node.js cannot directly use port 80. This is because in Unix/Linux systems, port 80 belongs to a special area and can only be used by the root user. In order to ensure the security of the system, Node.js uses "proxy" technology to forward incoming port 80 requests to other ports. For application developers, it is necessary to select an appropriate proxy tool and configure it correctly to ensure system security and stability.

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