Error Handling Best Practices in Node.js
From the Express.js REST API cheat sheet · Error Handling & Testing · verified Jul 2026
Error Handling Best Practices
Implement centralized error handling and custom error responses
javascript
// Custom error classes
class AppError extends Error {
constructor(message, statusCode) {
super(message);
this.statusCode = statusCode;
this.isOperational = true;
Error.captureStackTrace(this, this.constructor);
}
}
// Global error handler
app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
const { statusCode = 500, message } = err;
res.status(statusCode).json({
error: {
message,
...(process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && { stack: err.stack })
}
});
});🟢 Essential - Proper error handling improves user experience
💡 Use error middleware (4 parameters) for centralized handling
📌 Create custom error classes for different error types
⚠️ Never expose stack traces in production
⚡ Log errors but send user-friendly messages to client
🔗 Related: winston or pino for logging