Mastering Node.js: 52 Essential Best Practices for Robust Backend Development

Node.js best practices have been widely discussed, and this article aggregates the most extensive collection to date.

Maintained by Yoni Goldberg, the i0natan/nodebestpractices GitHub repository (maybe the largest) compiles 52 best‑practice recommendations across five domains: project structure, error handling, coding style, testing & code quality, and production environment, with future coverage of security and performance.

Each recommendation follows a four‑section format: Title, TL;DR (a concise summary), Otherwise (the risks of not applying it), and Readmore (detailed description with code examples and rationale).

Selected examples include:

Organize code by modules rather than by technical roles such as controller or model.

Layer modules (e.g., web request handling, business logic, data access).

Handle asynchronous errors with async‑await or promises.

Use native Error objects instead of strings.

Distinguish runtime errors from coding errors.

Centralize error handling, but avoid doing it inside middleware.

Document error handling in API specifications.

Exit the process gracefully on unknown errors.

Cover exception paths in unit tests.

Monitor exceptions and unavailability with application‑management tools.

Adopt a “fail fast” approach.

Enforce code quality with ESLint.

Prefer const , then let , and discard var .

Avoid calling require inside functions.

Require directories via an index.js that re‑exports the public API.

Use async/await consistently.

For the full 52‑item collection, readers are encouraged to follow the “Read original” link.