Essential Node.js Best Practices Every Developer Should Follow

Earlier, Xuan Nong introduced seven macro-level Node.js best practices; this article adds several practical recommendations for real-world development.

Avoid overly complex code by breaking it into the smallest possible modules.

Place all require statements at the top of the file to prevent blocking, as require is synchronous.

Remember that require caches modules; use this feature wisely to avoid bugs.

Always check for errors; unlike Java, Node.js requires explicit error handling beyond simple try...catch.

Listen for error events to prevent the process from exiting unexpectedly.

Be familiar with npm shortcuts: use -S and -D instead of --save and --save-dev.

Specify accurate version numbers in package.json; do not blindly trust semver in your applications, though follow semver for your own modules.

Manage dependencies properly: list development-only modules in devDependencies and install production dependencies with npm i --production to reduce risk.

Combined with the previous article, these points cover many aspects of Node.js development, from callbacks and asynchronous code to error handling and dependency locking, aiming to help developers in practice.