Modern 2021 Node Api

A modern, production-ready Node.js REST API built with Express.js featuring configuration management, input validation, and comprehensive testing. This project serves as a template and learning resource for building scalable backend services.

Built in 2021. This application demonstrates best practices for building REST APIs with Node.js, including proper error handling, validation, configuration management, and testing.

Features

• 🚀 Express.js REST API server
• ✅ Input validation using Joi
• 🔧 Environment-based configuration management
• 🧪 Comprehensive test suite with Mocha & Chai
• 📝 ESLint code quality enforcement (Airbnb style)
• 🔄 Hot-reload development with nodemon
• 🏗️ Clean, modular architecture
• 📦 Mock S3 service integration
• 🔒 Validation middleware
• 🌍 Multi-environment support (development, test, production)

Core Capabilities

• Express.js REST API: High-performance web server setup
• Input Validation: Joi-powered request body validation
• Environment Management: Robust configuration using config module
• Comprehensive Testing: Full coverage with Mocha and Chai
• S3 Service Mock: Integration-ready service architecture

Technical Excellence

• Modular Architecture: Clear separation between routes, controllers, and services
• Error Handling: Proper HTTP status codes and structured responses
• Code Quality: Strict linting with Airbnb style guide
• Hot-Reload: Efficient development workflow with nodemon
• Documentation: Self-documenting API structure and Mermaid diagrams

Developer Experience

• Easy Setup: Zero-config development start
• Testing Framework: Ready-to-use testing helpers
• Linting: Pre-configured ESLint for consistent code style
• Environment Overrides: Simple configuration for dev/test/prod
• Clear Flow: Visualized request/response flow with Mermaid

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v12 or higher)
• npm or pnpm

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/orassayag/modern-2021-node-api.git
cd modern-2021-node-api

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Start the development server:

npm run dev

The server will start on http://localhost:4001

Configuration

Configuration is managed using the config module. Edit configuration files in the config/ directory:

• config/default.js - Default settings
• config/development.js - Development overrides
• config/production.js - Production overrides
• config/test.js - Test environment overrides

Environment Variables:

• PORT - Server port (default: 4001)
• HOST - Server host (default: localhost)
• AWS_URL - AWS S3 URL (default: https://s3.amazon.com)
• NODE_ENV - Environment: development, test, or production

Usage

Development

npm run dev

Testing

npm test

Production

npm start

Available Scripts

Development Script

Runs the server with automatic reload on file changes:

npm run dev

Production Script

Runs the server in production mode:

npm start

Testing Script

Runs the test suite:

npm test

Linting Script

Checks code quality:

npm run lint

API Documentation

GET /api/config/

Retrieves the current configuration.

Response:

{
  "a": "value",
  "b": "value"
}

Status: 200 OK

POST /veryhiddenapi/config/

Creates or updates configuration (protected endpoint).

Request Body:

{
  "a": "string",
  "b": "string"
}

Status: 201 Created

Validation: Request body is validated against Joi schema.

Project Structure

modern-2021-node-api/
├── src/
│   ├── index.js                      # Application entry point
│   ├── httpServer/
│   │   ├── index.js                  # Express server setup
│   │   ├── controllers/              # Request handlers
│   │   │   └── configController.js
│   │   ├── middleware/               # Validation middleware
│   │   │   ├── configSchema.js
│   │   │   └── validate.js
│   │   └── routes/                   # API routes
│   │       ├── index.js
│   │       └── configRoutes.js
│   └── services/                     # Business logic services
│       └── s3Service.js
├── config/                           # Environment configuration
│   ├── default.js
│   ├── development.js
│   ├── production.js
│   └── test.js
├── test/                             # Test files
│   ├── helper/
│   │   └── test_helper.js
│   └── controllers/
│       └── config.spec.js
├── .eslintrc.js                      # ESLint configuration
├── package.json
└── README.md

Directory Structure

The project follows a modular structure organized by responsibility:

• src/: Core application logic
  • httpServer/: Express server, routes, and controllers
  • services/: Business logic and external integrations
• config/: Environment-based configuration files
• test/: Comprehensive test suite
• logs/: Application logs (created at runtime)

Architecture Diagram

graph TD
    A[Client] -->|HTTP Request| B[Express Server]
    B --> C{Route Handler}
    C -->|/api/config/| D[Config Routes]
    C -->|/veryhiddenapi/config/| E[Protected Config Routes]

    D --> F[Validation Middleware]
    E --> F

    F -->|Valid| G[Config Controller]
    F -->|Invalid| H[Error Response]

    G --> I[S3 Service]
    I --> J[AWS S3]

    G -->|Success| K[JSON Response]
    G -->|Error| H

    K --> A
    H --> A

    subgraph "Configuration Layer"
        L[Config Module]
        M[Environment Variables]
        L --> M
    end

    subgraph "Server Layer"
        B
        C
    end

    subgraph "Business Logic"
        G
        I
    end

    L -.->|Provides Config| B

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Request Flow

sequenceDiagram
    participant Client
    participant Express
    participant Validation
    participant Controller
    participant Service
    participant S3

    Client->>Express: POST /veryhiddenapi/config/
    Express->>Validation: Validate Request Body

    alt Invalid Input
        Validation->>Client: 400 Bad Request
    else Valid Input
        Validation->>Controller: Process Request
        Controller->>Service: uploadConfig(data)
        Service->>S3: Upload to S3
        S3-->>Service: Success
        Service-->>Controller: Success
        Controller->>Client: 201 Created
    end

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Development

The project follows modern JavaScript best practices:

• ES6+ syntax with async/await
• Modular architecture with clear separation of concerns
• Input validation using Joi schemas
• Error handling with proper HTTP status codes
• Testing with Mocha and Chai
• Code quality enforced by ESLint (Airbnb configuration)

Adding New Endpoints

1. Create route definition in src/httpServer/routes/
2. Add controller logic in src/httpServer/controllers/
3. Create validation schema in src/httpServer/middleware/
4. Write tests in test/controllers/
5. Register routes in src/httpServer/routes/index.js

Architecture Principles

1. Separation of Concerns: Controllers handle requests, services handle logic
2. Configuration-Driven: All environment variables and settings managed centrally
3. Fail-Fast Validation: Request validation happens at the entry point
4. Test-First Mentality: Built-in testing helpers and specs
5. Standardized Responses: Consistent JSON response formats

Design Patterns

• MVC (Model-View-Controller): Simplified for REST API (Controller/Service)
• Middleware Pattern: For validation and error handling
• Singleton Pattern: For configuration and service instances
• Dependency Injection: Simple manual injection in routes

Testing

The project uses:

• Mocha - Test framework
• Chai - Assertion library
• chai-http - HTTP integration testing

Tests cover:

• API endpoint functionality
• Request validation
• Success and error scenarios
• HTTP status codes

Run tests:

npm test

Best Practices

1. Environment Separation: Always use the correct NODE_ENV for your operations
2. Input Validation: Define Joi schemas for all new endpoints
3. Modular Services: Keep business logic in services, not controllers
4. Test Coverage: Write tests for both success and error scenarios
5. Linting: Ensure all code passes ESLint before committing

Contributing

Contributions to this project are released to the public under the project's open source license.

Everyone is welcome to contribute. Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines.

Support

For questions, issues, or contributions:

• GitHub Issues: https://github.com/orassayag/modern-2021-node-api/issues
• Email: orassayag@gmail.com

Author

• Or Assayag - Initial work - orassayag
• Or Assayag orassayag@gmail.com
• GitHub: https://github.com/orassayag
• StackOverflow: https://stackoverflow.com/users/4442606/or-assayag?tab=profile
• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/orassayag

License

This application has an MIT license - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built for educational and research purposes
• Respects robots.txt and implements rate limiting
• Uses user-agent rotation to avoid detection
• Implements polite crawling practices