How to fix Error: Static middleware base path not found in Node.js

# List current directory structure
ls -la
ls -la public

# On Windows
dir
dir public

const express = require('express');
const path = require('path');
const app = express();

// WRONG - typo or incorrect path
app.use(express.static('public_files')); // should be 'public'

// CORRECT - simple relative path
app.use(express.static('public'));

// CORRECT - using path.join with __dirname
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));

// CORRECT - absolute path
app.use(express.static('/var/www/myapp/public'));

app.listen(3000);

const path = require('path');
const express = require('express');
const app = express();

// Using __dirname ensures correct path relative to this file
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));

// Or use path.resolve for absolute paths
app.use(express.static(path.resolve(__dirname, '../public')));

app.listen(3000);

# List current directory
pwd

# Change to correct directory if needed
cd /path/to/your/app

# Start the app
node app.js
# or
npm start

# On Windows
cd C:\Users\YourName\project
node app.js

# Create the public directory
mkdir public

# Add subdirectories if needed
mkdir -p public/css public/js public/images

# On Windows
mkdir public
mkdir public\\css
mkdir public\\js
mkdir public\\images

const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');
const express = require('express');
const app = express();

const publicPath = path.join(__dirname, 'public');

// Only serve static files if directory exists
if (fs.existsSync(publicPath)) {
  app.use(express.static(publicPath));
  console.log('Static files will be served from:', publicPath);
} else {
  console.warn('Public directory not found at:', publicPath);
  console.warn('Static files will not be served');
}

app.listen(3000);

# TypeScript example
# Make sure static files are copied to dist/public during build
ls -la dist/public

# Check your build script in package.json
cat package.json | grep -A 5 scripts

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc && cp -r public dist/public",
    "start": "node dist/app.js"
  }
}