name: express description: Express.js framework patterns including routing, middleware, request/response handling, and Express-specific APIs. Use when working with Express routes, middleware, or Express applications.

Express.js Framework Patterns

Purpose

Essential Express.js patterns for building scalable backend APIs, emphasizing clean routing, middleware composition, and proper request/response handling.

When to Use This Skill

Creating or modifying Express routes
Building middleware (auth, validation, error handling)
Working with Express Request/Response objects
Implementing BaseController pattern
Error handling in Express

Clean Route Pattern

Routes Only Route

Routes should ONLY:

✅ Define route paths
✅ Register middleware
✅ Delegate to controllers

Routes should NEVER:

❌ Contain business logic
❌ Access database directly
❌ Implement validation logic
❌ Format complex responses

import { Router } from 'express';
import { UserController } from '../controllers/UserController';
import { SSOMiddlewareClient } from '../middleware/SSOMiddleware';

const router = Router();
const controller = new UserController();

// Clean delegation - no business logic
router.get('/:id',
    SSOMiddlewareClient.verifyLoginStatus,
    async (req, res) => controller.getUser(req, res)
);

router.post('/',
    SSOMiddlewareClient.verifyLoginStatus,
    async (req, res) => controller.createUser(req, res)
);

export default router;

BaseController Pattern

Implementation

import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';
import { Response } from 'express';

export abstract class BaseController {
    protected handleError(
        error: unknown,
        res: Response,
        context: string,
        statusCode = 500
    ): void {
        Sentry.withScope((scope) => {
            scope.setTag('controller', this.constructor.name);
            scope.setTag('operation', context);
            Sentry.captureException(error);
        });

        res.status(statusCode).json({
            success: false,
            error: {
                message: error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'An error occurred',
                code: statusCode,
            },
        });
    }

    protected handleSuccess<T>(
        res: Response,
        data: T,
        message?: string,
        statusCode = 200
    ): void {
        res.status(statusCode).json({
            success: true,
            message,
            data,
        });
    }

    protected async withTransaction<T>(
        name: string,
        operation: string,
        callback: () => Promise<T>
    ): Promise<T> {
        return await Sentry.startSpan({ name, op: operation }, callback);
    }

    protected addBreadcrumb(
        message: string,
        category: string,
        data?: Record<string, any>
    ): void {
        Sentry.addBreadcrumb({ message, category, level: 'info', data });
    }
}

Using BaseController

import { Request, Response } from 'express';
import { BaseController } from './BaseController';
import { UserService } from '../services/userService';
import { createUserSchema } from '../validators/userSchemas';

export class UserController extends BaseController {
    private userService: UserService;

    constructor() {
        super();
        this.userService = new UserService();
    }

    async getUser(req: Request, res: Response): Promise<void> {
        try {
            this.addBreadcrumb('Fetching user', 'user_controller', {
                userId: req.params.id
            });

            const user = await this.userService.findById(req.params.id);

            if (!user) {
                return this.handleError(
                    new Error('User not found'),
                    res,
                    'getUser',
                    404
                );
            }

            this.handleSuccess(res, user);
        } catch (error) {
            this.handleError(error, res, 'getUser');
        }
    }

    async createUser(req: Request, res: Response): Promise<void> {
        try {
            const validated = createUserSchema.parse(req.body);

            const user = await this.withTransaction(
                'user.create',
                'db.query',
                () => this.userService.create(validated)
            );

            this.handleSuccess(res, user, 'User created successfully', 201);
        } catch (error) {
            this.handleError(error, res, 'createUser');
        }
    }
}

Middleware Patterns

Authentication

import { Request, Response, NextFunction } from 'express';
import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';
import { config } from '../config/unifiedConfig';

export class SSOMiddlewareClient {
    static verifyLoginStatus(req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction): void {
        const token = req.cookies.refresh_token;

        if (!token) {
            return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Not authenticated' });
        }

        try {
            const decoded = jwt.verify(token, config.tokens.jwt);
            res.locals.claims = decoded;
            res.locals.effectiveUserId = decoded.sub;
            next();
        } catch (error) {
            res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid token' });
        }
    }
}

Audit with AsyncLocalStorage

import { Request, Response, NextFunction } from 'express';
import { AsyncLocalStorage } from 'async_hooks';
import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';

export interface AuditContext {
    userId: string;
    userName?: string;
    requestId: string;
    timestamp: Date;
}

export const auditContextStorage = new AsyncLocalStorage<AuditContext>();

export function auditMiddleware(req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction): void {
    const context: AuditContext = {
        userId: res.locals.effectiveUserId || 'anonymous',
        userName: res.locals.claims?.preferred_username,
        timestamp: new Date(),
        requestId: req.id || uuidv4(),
    };

    auditContextStorage.run(context, () => next());
}

export function getAuditContext(): AuditContext | null {
    return auditContextStorage.getStore() || null;
}

Error Boundary

import { Request, Response, NextFunction } from 'express';
import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';

export function errorBoundary(
    error: Error,
    req: Request,
    res: Response,
    next: NextFunction
): void {
    const statusCode = error.statusCode || 500;

    Sentry.captureException(error);

    res.status(statusCode).json({
        success: false,
        error: {
            message: error.message,
            code: error.name,
        },
    });
}

// Async wrapper
export function asyncErrorWrapper(
    handler: (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => Promise<any>
) {
    return async (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
        try {
            await handler(req, res, next);
        } catch (error) {
            next(error);
        }
    };
}

Middleware Ordering

Critical Order

import express from 'express';
import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';

const app = express();

// 1. Sentry request handler (FIRST)
app.use(Sentry.Handlers.requestHandler());

// 2. Body/cookie parsing
app.use(express.json());
app.use(cookieParser());

// 3. Routes
app.use('/api/users', userRoutes);

// 4. Error handler (AFTER routes)
app.use(errorBoundary);

// 5. Sentry error handler (LAST)
app.use(Sentry.Handlers.errorHandler());

Rules:

Sentry request handler FIRST
Body/cookie parsers before routes
Error handlers AFTER all routes
Sentry error handler LAST

Request/Response Handling

Typed Requests

interface CreateUserRequest {
    email: string;
    name: string;
    password: string;
}

async function createUser(
    req: Request<{}, {}, CreateUserRequest>,
    res: Response
): Promise<void> {
    const { email, name, password } = req.body; // Typed
}

Response Patterns

// Success (200)
res.json({ success: true, data: user });

// Created (201)
res.status(201).json({ success: true, data: user });

// Error (400/500)
res.status(400).json({ success: false, error: { message: 'Invalid input' } });

HTTP Status Codes

Code	Use Case
200	Success (GET, PUT)
201	Created (POST)
204	No Content (DELETE)
400	Bad Request
401	Unauthorized
403	Forbidden
404	Not Found
500	Server Error

Common Mistakes

1. Business Logic in Routes

// ❌ Never do this
router.post('/submit', async (req, res) => {
    // 100+ lines of logic
    const user = await db.user.create(req.body);
    const workflow = await processWorkflow(user);
    res.json(workflow);
});

// ✅ Do this
router.post('/submit', (req, res) => controller.submit(req, res));

2. Wrong Middleware Order

// ❌ Error handler before routes
app.use(errorBoundary);
app.use('/api', routes); // Won't catch errors

// ✅ Error handler after routes
app.use('/api', routes);
app.use(errorBoundary);

3. No Error Handling

// ❌ Unhandled errors crash server
router.get('/user/:id', async (req, res) => {
    const user = await userService.get(req.params.id); // May throw
    res.json(user);
});

// ✅ Proper error handling
async getUser(req: Request, res: Response): Promise<void> {
    try {
        const user = await this.userService.get(req.params.id);
        this.handleSuccess(res, user);
    } catch (error) {
        this.handleError(error, res, 'getUser');
    }
}

Common Imports

// Express core
import express, { Request, Response, NextFunction, Router } from 'express';

// Middleware
import cookieParser from 'cookie-parser';
import cors from 'cors';

// Sentry
import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';

// Utilities
import { AsyncLocalStorage } from 'async_hooks';

Best Practices

Keep Routes Clean - Routes only route, delegate to controllers
Use BaseController - Consistent error handling and response formatting
Proper Middleware Order - Sentry → Parsers → Routes → Error handlers
Type Everything - Use TypeScript for Request/Response types
Handle All Errors - Use try-catch in controllers, error boundaries globally

Related Skills:

nodejs - Core Node.js patterns and async handling
backend-dev-guidelines - Complete backend architecture guide
prisma - Database patterns with Prisma ORM

express

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