Featured Building REST APIs with Node.js and Express: Complete Guide

Express.js Setup

Express is a minimal and flexible Node.js web application framework that provides a robust set of features for building APIs.

Basic Express Server

const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.use(express.json());

app.get('/api/users', (req, res) => {
    res.json([{ id: 1, name: 'John', email: 'john@example.com' }]);
});

app.post('/api/users', (req, res) => {
    const { name, email } = req.body;
    const user = { id: Date.now(), name, email };
    res.status(201).json(user);
});

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
app.listen(PORT, () => {
    console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`);
});

Route Organization

// routes/users.js
const express = require('express');
const router = express.Router();

router.get('/', async (req, res) => {
    const users = await User.find();
    res.json(users);
});

module.exports = router;

Best Practices

• Use environment variables
• Implement proper error handling
• Use middleware for common tasks
• Validate request data
• Use async/await for database operations