Error Handling

The REST API Template uses a centralized error handler to ensure consistent and clean JSON responses across all endpoints.

Middleware Location



src/middleware/error.middleware.js

Example


// src/middleware/error.middleware.js
export default function errorHandler(err, req, res, next) {
  res.status(err.status || 500).json({
    success: false,
    message: err.message || "Internal Server Error"
  })
}

Usage

Registered at the bottom of src/app.js, after all route definitions:


import errorHandler from "./middleware/error.middleware.js"
app.use(errorHandler)

This ensures that all thrown or forwarded errors from controllers or services are caught and formatted before reaching the client.

Notes

Combine with the built-in ApiError and CatchAsync utilities for structured error propagation.
Never handle errors manually inside routes; let middleware do the work.
Keeps responses predictable and easy to debug.

Consistent error handling is key to production-grade APIs — NodeBuilder gives you that by default.