NodeJS allows JavaScript to be used outside of the browser for scripting purposes like automating tasks, building command line utilities, web scraping, and more. It uses the V8 JavaScript engine and the npm package manager, which makes it easy to find, install, and update third-party packages. Getting started with NodeJS involves cloning a GitHub repo containing the n utility, which helps manage Node versions, and then using n to install the latest stable version of Node and gain access to npm. Example scripts demonstrated include using Node to interact with YouTube via the command line, build command line apps using commander.js, daemonize processes, and integrate with databases like MongoDB.