Build a REST API with Node.js & Express — Step by Step (2026)

mkdir my-api && cd my-api
npm init -y
npm install express mongoose dotenv morgan cors
npm install -D nodemon

// server.js
require("dotenv").config();
const express  = require("express");
const mongoose = require("mongoose");
const cors     = require("cors");
const morgan   = require("morgan");

const app = express();

app.use(cors());
app.use(morgan("dev"));
app.use(express.json());

// Routes
app.use("/api/users", require("./routes/userRoutes"));

// Connect to DB and start
mongoose.connect(process.env.MONGODB_URI).then(() => {
  app.listen(process.env.PORT || 5000, () =>
    console.log("Server running on port", process.env.PORT || 5000)
  );
});

// models/User.js
const mongoose = require("mongoose");

const userSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
  name:     { type: String, required: true, minlength: 3 },
  email:    { type: String, required: true, unique: true },
  password: { type: String, required: true },
  role:     { type: String, enum: ["user", "admin"], default: "user" },
}, { timestamps: true });

module.exports = mongoose.model("User", userSchema);

// controllers/userController.js
const User = require("../models/User");

exports.getAllUsers = async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const { page = 1, limit = 10 } = req.query;
    const users = await User.find()
      .select("-password")
      .limit(limit * 1)
      .skip((page - 1) * limit)
      .sort({ createdAt: -1 });

    const total = await User.countDocuments();

    res.json({
      success: true,
      data: users,
      pagination: { page: +page, limit: +limit, total },
    });
  } catch (err) {
    res.status(500).json({ success: false, message: err.message });
  }
};

// middleware/errorHandler.js
const errorHandler = (err, req, res, next) => {
  const statusCode = err.statusCode || 500;
  res.status(statusCode).json({
    success: false,
    message: err.message || "Server Error",
    ...(process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && { stack: err.stack }),
  });
};

module.exports = errorHandler;