/nodejs-backend-patterns

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.