Luke Angel
№ 30 · Self-paced — pre-recorded

Node.js: The Essentials + API Frameworks (Express, Koa, Sails).

Node.js from zero to your first working API. The course walks the runtime, the package ecosystem, and three frameworks: Express, Koa, and Sails.

Syllabus
1
Installing Node.js & the runtime mental model
What Node actually is, the event loop, npm, and the project layout that won't bite you later.
2
JavaScript essentials for server-side work
Modules, packages, async patterns, and ES2016+ features that matter on the server.
3
Files, streams, and the standard library
Reading, writing, piping, and the parts of Node's built-in modules you'll actually use.
4
Express — the workhorse framework
Routing, middleware, error handling, and how to structure an Express app that scales past your demo.
5
Koa — minimal middleware + async-first
Where Koa fits, the cleaner middleware model, and when async/await earns its keep.
6
Sails — full-stack MVC for opinionated apps
When a "batteries-included" framework saves time and when it costs you.
7
Promises, generators, and async/await
Escape from callback hell — promise chains, generator-based control flow, and modern async/await.
8
Build the running example — a user auth API
Tying it together: routes, controllers, password hashing, JWT, and a small client that consumes it.

Node.js is a lightweight, efficient runtime for building network apps — and (still) the easiest path to a working API if you already know JavaScript. This course walks you through the runtime mental model, the three frameworks worth knowing (Express, Koa, Sails), and lands the trip with a small user-auth API you can fork as the starting point for whatever you build next.

Modern updates: the original recording predates async/await becoming standard; the bonus chapter covers the migration from generator-based control flow to async/await and what changes about the structure of your routes and controllers.

What you'll be able to do after

  • Stand up a working Node + Express API in under five minutes
  • Pick the right framework for the right job (and articulate why)
  • Read someone else's middleware stack and immediately spot the bug
  • Build a JWT-authenticated route with proper password hashing without copy-pasting from Stack Overflow

What this course is not

  • A deep dive on writing a Node runtime fork. (There are other courses for that.)
  • A frontend course. We use a small client only to consume the API.
  • A devops course. We deploy locally; production deployment is the next course.

Sign up via the platform link above. Self-paced. Open enrollment. Recordings included.