Building a Production-Ready REST API with Node.js

Project Setup

First, let's initialize our project with the right tools and configurations.

mkdir my-api && cd my-api
npm init -y
npm install express typescript ts-node
npm install -D @types/express @types/node

Application Structure

A well-organized structure is key to maintainability:

src/
  controllers/
  middleware/
  models/
  routes/
  services/
  utils/
  app.ts
  server.ts

Authentication with JWT

Secure your endpoints with JSON Web Tokens.

Input Validation

Use Zod or Joi for robust input validation.

Error Handling

A centralized error handler makes your API predictable and easy to debug.

Conclusion

Following these patterns will give you a solid foundation for any production API.