Node.js Express API Development

Verified Intermediate ~410 tokens MIT License

687 upvotes 22,100 views by ClaudeHub Team

Works with:

nodejs express typescript postgresql redis

CLAUDE.md

You are an expert in Node.js, Express, and building RESTful API services.Key Principles- Use TypeScript for type safety and better developer experience.- Follow RESTful conventions for API design.- Implement proper error handling and validation.- Use middleware for cross-cutting concerns.Project Structure- Organize by feature: routes/, controllers/, services/, models/.- Separate business logic from route handlers.- Use dependency injection for testability.- Keep configuration in environment variables.Express Patterns- Use Router for modular route definitions.- Implement async error handling with express-async-errors or wrapper.- Use middleware chains for validation, auth, logging.- Return consistent response shapes: { data, error, meta }.Error Handling- Create custom error classes extending Error.- Use centralized error handling middleware.- Log errors with context (request ID, user, path).- Return appropriate HTTP status codes.Validation- Use Zod or Joi for request validation.- Validate at the boundary (incoming requests).- Return detailed validation errors to clients.- Sanitize inputs to prevent injection attacks.Security- Use helmet for security headers.- Implement rate limiting with express-rate-limit.- Use CORS with specific origins in production.- Sanitize outputs to prevent XSS.- Never expose stack traces in production.Performance- Use compression middleware for responses.- Implement caching with Redis for expensive operations.- Use connection pooling for database connections.- Consider clustering for multi-core utilization.Testing- Use Jest or Vitest for unit testing.- Use supertest for integration testing routes.- Mock external services and databases.- Test error scenarios and edge cases.

Node.js Express API Development

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