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# Node base file

The node base file contains the core code of your node. All nodes must have a base file. The contents of this file are different depending on whether you're building a declarative-style or programmatic-style node. For guidance on which style to use, refer to [Choose your node building approach](/integrations/creating-nodes/plan/choose-node-method.md).

These documents give short code snippets to help understand the code structure and concepts. For full walk-throughs of building a node, including real-world code examples, refer to [Build a declarative-style node](/integrations/creating-nodes/build/declarative-style-node.md) or [Build a programmatic-style node](/integrations/creating-nodes/build/programmatic-style-node.md).

You can also explore the [n8n-nodes-starter](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n-nodes-starter){:target=_blank .external-link} and n8n's own [nodes](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/tree/master/packages/nodes-base/nodes){:target=_blank .external-link} for a wider range of examples. The starter contains basic examples that you can build on. The n8n [Mattermost node](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/tree/master/packages/nodes-base/nodes/Mattermost) is a good example of a more complex programmatic-style node, including versioning.

For all nodes, refer to the:

* [Structure of the node base file](/integrations/creating-nodes/build/reference/node-base-files/structure.md)
* [Standard parameters](/integrations/creating-nodes/build/reference/node-base-files/standard-parameters.md)

For declarative-style nodes, refer to the:

* [Declarative-style parameters](/integrations/creating-nodes/build/reference/node-base-files/declarative-style-parameters.md)

For programmatic-style nodes, refer to the:

* [Programmatic-style parameters](/integrations/creating-nodes/build/reference/node-base-files/programmatic-style-parameters.md)
* [Programmatic-style execute() method](/integrations/creating-nodes/build/reference/node-base-files/programmatic-style-execute-method.md)