Running Node.js -- but first, how do I even know, through the thicket of proxy and db logins, that i'm even connected?

Clone and run this repo to get your configuration right. Then get on with node, react, cors, etc. etc.

clone the repo

yarn install

edit the file app.js -- SEE COMMENTS IN FILE FOR HOW TO CONNECT via node.js

then run yarn start

to run node app.js

It runs once and simply a) tries to connect to your postgres db. then runs a "SELECT NOW()" command to fully check that you are connected, have permissions, have the right table name and can receive data back.

See app.js comments for more details.

REFERENCES:

See lots more details here: https://node-postgres.com/features/connecting