Parse-Server Local Installation — external modules - node.js

Question

I installed with success a Parse-Server on my local machine from this GUID.
I tried first with global installation, then I tried to understand better (It's the first time I see something related to Node.js) and I installed in a local directory. I think it should be the same.
this is what I done:
npm install parse-server parse-dashboard underscore
this is how the directory looks like:
/parse: ls
dashboard-config.json
logs
node_modules
ls node_modules/underscore
LICENSE
README.md
package.json
underscore-min.js
underscore-min.map
underscore.js
ls node_modules/parse
parse/
parse-dashboard/
parse-json/
parse-server/
parseurl/
Next I try to include also the cloud code I developed. the main.js has this content:
//var Image = require("parse-image");
var _ = require('underscore');
...
This is how I started the server:
node_modules/parse-server/bin/parse-server \
--appId APPID --masterKey MASTERKEY \
--databaseURI mongodb://localhost:27017/MyAPP \
--cloud /absolutepathfor/MyApp/cloud/main.js
and the error I got
module.js:341
throw err;
^
Error: Cannot find module 'underscore'
at Function.Module._resolveFilename (module.js:339:15)
at Function.Module._load (module.js:290:25)
at Module.require (module.js:367:17)
at require (internal/module.js:16:19)
at Object.<anonymous> (/Users/......./main.js:2:9)
at Module._compile (module.js:413:34)
at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:422:10)
at Module.load (module.js:357:32)
at Function.Module._load (module.js:314:12)
at Module.require (module.js:367:17)
How can I include in this case underscore, but in any case other libraries?
[update]
I installed globally the underscore lib (node install -g underscore).
I create a symbolic link cloud -> < path where is located cloud/main.js >
Next I created package.json with npm init command
I launch again npm install
I created app.js like described in the guid and I configured it using the same parameters above.
I started the server with node app.js
all gone fine. the problem right now is in permissions on create a new document, where I should already have that grants, but this will be another problem to solve. I hope this can help somebody else

Answer 1

I hit the same problem and error message. I did the followings and it works
npm install underscore
use this path:
var _ = require('../node_modules/underscore/underscore.js')
Refer to more details in this post.
Can't get 'underscore' to work with parse server

Answer 2

I just sorted a similar issue while transferring Parse.com CloudCode to a self hosted Parse Server on Nodejs; in one of the controller we had the line
var _ = require('underscore.js');
It had to be done like this on Parse.com. But now as we are on NodeJS and have NPM—it's enough to just do:
var _ = require('underscore');
(ie: drop the .js extension)