Author: Arunangshu Das

Url: https://article.arunangshudas.com/5-modern-node-js-practices-to-adopt-in-2025-c3e1e8905ee6

Date Published: June 9, 2025

Content:

5 Modern Node.js Practices to Adopt in 2025

The JavaScript landscape evolves fast — and Node.js is no exception. While Node.js has been around since 2009, its ecosystem and best practices are constantly maturing. What was good enough in 2015 (or even 2020) might now be outdated, inefficient, or even insecure.

Whether you’re building high-concurrency APIs, working with serverless platforms, or maintaining large-scale monolithic apps, 2025 is a great time to revisit your Node.js stack and development approach.

1. Go Fully ESM: Embrace ECMAScript Modules Natively

What’s changing?

For years, CommonJS (require and module.exports) was the default module system in Node.js. But starting with Node 14+, and especially in Node 18+, ECMAScript Modules (ESM) have become the preferred standard.

ESM is not just “fancy syntax” — it’s the way JavaScript is meant to be written in 2025. It offers better static analysis, native tree-shaking, top-level await, and smoother interop with frontend JavaScript frameworks.

Why adopt it now?

Modern tooling (like Vite, Next.js, Deno) all use ESM

Better performance with static imports

Works well with native Web APIs (like fetch)

Cleaner, future-proof code

Example

// Old CommonJSconst express = require('express');// New ESMimport express from 'express';

And in package.json, specify:

"type": "module"

Watch Out

Some older npm packages still use CommonJS. You might need interop hacks (createRequire or dynamic import).

Your test runner or build tool must support ESM (Jest with Babel or Vitest works great).

Pro Tip

If you’re starting a new project in 2025, default to ESM. It aligns your backend closer to the frontend ecosystem and ensures easier transitions and upgrades.

2. Adopt Native Web APIs (Yes, Even in Node.js!)

Wait, Web APIs in Node.js?

Yes. As of Node.js 18 and 20, many Web Platform APIs are now supported natively, such as:

fetch

FormData

URLPattern

AbortController

Blob, ReadableStream, etc.

Why this matters?

You no longer need third-party packages like node-fetch, axios, or form-data. Native Web APIs mean:

Less dependency bloat

Faster cold starts (especially in serverless)

Better interop with edge platforms (like Cloudflare Workers or Deno)

Example

// Instead of axios or node-fetchconst response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');const data = await response.json();

Compatibility Note

If you’re stuck on Node.js 16 or earlier, you won’t have these APIs without polyfills. But in 2025, it’s time to upgrade to Node.js 20+ or 22 LTS.

3. Move to a Layered Architecture (Clean, Hexagonal, or Onion)

Why flat structures no longer work

Most Node.js apps start simple: routes, services, maybe a database layer. But as features grow, your app becomes a tangled mess of business logic, I/O operations, and tightly-coupled controllers.

2025 is the time to refactor toward a Layered Architecture, such as:

Clean Architecture

Hexagonal Architecture

Onion Architecture

These aren’t buzzwords — they’re proven designs for separation of concerns, testability, and scalability.

Core Concepts

Domain layer → Your pure business logic (no DB or HTTP knowledge)

Application layer → Orchestrates use-cases

Interface/adapters → HTTP, DB, CLI, etc.

Infrastructure → Third-party details (e.g., Postgres, Redis)

Example folder structure

/src  /domain    /entities    /services  /use-cases  /infrastructure    /db    /email  /interfaces    /http      /routes      /controllers

Benefits

Write tests easily (mock infra!)

Change DB/email/queues without rewriting business logic

Clear code ownership

4. Use Async Local Storage for Context Propagation

What’s the problem?

In large Node.js apps, tracking a request context across middlewares, services, DB calls, and logs can be a nightmare. Especially with async/await, context gets lost.

The 2025 solution: AsyncLocalStorage from Node.js core

You can store and access per-request context (like request ID, user ID, tenant info) throughout your async code stack.

When to use it?

Distributed tracing

Request-scoped logging

Multi-tenancy

Feature flag evaluation

Example

import { AsyncLocalStorage } from 'node:async_hooks';const asyncLocalStorage = new AsyncLocalStorage();app.use((req, res, next) => {  asyncLocalStorage.run(new Map([['requestId', req.headers['x-request-id']]]), () => {    next();  });});function log(message) {  const store = asyncLocalStorage.getStore();  const requestId = store?.get('requestId');  console.log(`[${requestId}] ${message}`);}

Why this is better than passing req everywhere

Cleaner APIs, better encapsulation, and useful in background tasks spawned during a request.

5. Embrace Edge Computing and Serverless Patterns

The shift to the edge

With platforms like Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Functions, Deno Deploy, and AWS Lambda@Edge, the trend is moving toward lighter, distributed, serverless compute.

Modern Node.js should be optimized for:

Cold start speed

Smaller bundle size

Stateless logic

What to do

Prefer native APIs (like fetch)

Avoid large dependencies (e.g., ditch lodash)

Use modern bundlers (like esbuild, vite)

Structure code as small isolated handlers

Example: Deploy a small API with Cloudflare Workers

export default {  async fetch(request) {    return new Response('Hello from the edge!', {      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' },    });  },};

Bonus Tip: Build Hybrid Apps

Use full-stack platforms like Next.js (app router) or Astro + API endpoints to mix edge functions with server logic smartly.

Wrapping It Up: Modern Node.js Is Clean, Modular, and Future-Ready

Recap of the 5 Practices:

Already maintaining a legacy Node.js app? Start small:

Migrate one module to ESM

Replace one dependency with a native API

Refactor one use-case into a clean architecture layer

Modern Node.js doesn’t require a full rewrite — it’s about evolving, step by step.