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How does HTTP/2 support work in Node.js and how does it differ from HTTP/1.1?

Q: How does HTTP/2 support work in Node.js and how does it differ from HTTP/1.1?

**TL;DR.** The node:http2 module **multiplexes** many concurrent request/response **streams over one TCP connection** with **header compression (HPACK)**, eliminating HTTP/1.1's connection-level head-of-line blocking. Browsers require **TLS** for HTTP/2, and the API is **stream-based** rather than the classic req/res. HTTP/1.1 1 request per connection head-of-line blocking many sockets <text class='d-text' x='340' y='54' text

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Multiplexing, streams, and server push over a single connection.

nodejshttp2networkingperformance

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Minimal HTTP/2 server

import http2 from 'node:http2';
import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';

const server = http2.createSecureServer({
  key: readFileSync('key.pem'), cert: readFileSync('cert.pem'),
});
server.on('stream', (stream, headers) => {
  stream.respond({ ':status': 200, 'content-type': 'text/plain' });
  stream.end('hello over HTTP/2');
});
server.listen(8443);

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