Organizing the code with express.Router()

In this chapter, we will discuss how to organize your code using express.Router() in Node.js and Express.js.

Express.js provides a way to separate your routes and middleware into different files using express.Router(). This allows you to organize your code more effectively, especially for larger applications with many routes and middleware.

To use express.Router(), you first need to create a new instance of the router in a separate file. For example, let’s say you have a file called “users.js” where you want to define all the routes related to users. You can create a new router instance in this file like this:


const express = require('express');
const router = express.Router();


Once you have created the router instance, you can define your routes and middleware using the router object instead of the main express app object. For example:


router.get('/', (req, res) => {
// handle GET request for /users
});

// ... other routes and middleware


After defining all your routes and middleware in the “users.js” file, you can then use this router in your main app file (e.g., “app.js”) by requiring it and using app.use() to mount it at a specified path. For example:


const usersRouter = require('./users');
app.use('/users', usersRouter);


By using express.Router(), you can keep your code more organized and maintainable as your application grows. It also makes it easier to collaborate with team members and manage different parts of the application separately.

As you can see, using express.Router() can greatly improve the organization of your code in Node.js and Express.js applications. We highly recommend using this feature, especially for larger and more complex projects. Stay tuned for the next chapters in our series for more tips and best practices on Node.js and Express.js development!