nodejs-backend-patterns

by Seth Hobson

Build production-ready Node.js backend services with Express/Fastify, implementing middleware patterns, error handling, authentication, database integration, and API design best practices. Use when creating Node.js servers, REST APIs, GraphQL backends, or microservices architectures.

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---
name: nodejs-backend-patterns
description: Build production-ready Node.js backend services with Express/Fastify, implementing middleware patterns, error handling, authentication, database integration, and API design best practices. Use when creating Node.js servers, REST APIs, GraphQL backends, or microservices architectures.
---

# Node.js Backend Patterns

Comprehensive guidance for building scalable, maintainable, and production-ready Node.js backend applications with modern frameworks, architectural patterns, and best practices.

## When to Use This Skill

- Building REST APIs or GraphQL servers
- Creating microservices with Node.js
- Implementing authentication and authorization
- Designing scalable backend architectures
- Setting up middleware and error handling
- Integrating databases (SQL and NoSQL)
- Building real-time applications with WebSockets
- Implementing background job processing

## Detailed patterns and worked examples

Detailed pattern documentation lives in `references/details.md`. Read that file when the navigation tier above is insufficient.

## Best Practices

1. **Use TypeScript**: Type safety prevents runtime errors
2. **Implement proper error handling**: Use custom error classes
3. **Validate input**: Use libraries like Zod or Joi
4. **Use environment variables**: Never hardcode secrets
5. **Implement logging**: Use structured logging (Pino, Winston)
6. **Add rate limiting**: Prevent abuse
7. **Use HTTPS**: Always in production
8. **Implement CORS properly**: Don't use `*` in production
9. **Use dependency injection**: Easier testing and maintenance
10. **Write tests**: Unit, integration, and E2E tests
11. **Handle graceful shutdown**: Clean up resources
12. **Use connection pooling**: For databases
13. **Implement health checks**: For monitoring
14. **Use compression**: Reduce response size
15. **Monitor performance**: Use APM tools

## Testing Patterns

See `javascript-testing-patterns` skill for comprehensive testing guidance.