Backend library for Node.js

The backendjs provides a set of modules and utilities for building scalable, distributed applications with features like api routing, database management, caching, job queues, event processing, and more.

Visit the tutorial or all docs.

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const { app, api } = require('backendjs');

app.start({ api: 1 });

api.app.get("/", (context) => { context.send(200, "Hello, World!") });

console.log('Server running on http://%s:%s', api.bind, api.port);

Features

1. Modular Architecture

   • The framework is built around a modular design, where each module can be configured via command-line arguments or configuration files.
   • Minimum external dependencies, extensive library of useful utilities, functions and algorithms included like text conversions, crypto wrappers, process management and more
   • Essential dependencies like redis, pg, ws, croner, nodemailer are bundled in the package inside the dist/ folder to minimize dependency on npm install.

2. Database Abstraction

   • Supports multiple databases: SQLite, Rqlite, PostgreSQL-wire compatible (PostgreSQL, DSQL, CockroachDB), DynamoDB, Elasticsearch.
   • Provides a unified API for CRUD operations, caching, and transactions, access to native engine allows to send raw SQL or JSON directy.
   • Supports primary keys, indexes, and schema migrations.

3. Caching

   • Built-in caching with support for Redis, NATS, and local memory caches.
   • Features like LRU (Least Recently Used) caching, token bucket rate limiting, and locking mechanisms.

4. Job Queue & Event Processing

   • Supports SQS, NATS, DB and Redis queues for job processing.
   • Workers can be spawned to handle jobs asynchronously.
   • Event-based architecture for real-time processing.

5. API Layer

   • Trie router kind of similar to Express/Hono with middleware for authentication, rate limiting, static, logging and basic user management.
   • Includes WebSocket support for real-time communication using the same API routes and authentication.
   • Includes simple but powerful input validation via declarative schemas.

6. AWS Integration

   • Supports AWS services like S3, SQS, SNS, DynamoDB, and EC2, the AWS signatire V4 is implemented internally and the rest of AWS API is used directly, no aws-sdk involved.
   • Automated instance/containers metadata retrieval and configuration.

7. Logging & Monitoring

   • Advanced logging with syslog, file, and console support.
   • Metrics collection for CPU, memory, network, and API performance.
   • Integration with Elasticsearch for log aggregation.

8. Push Notifications

   • Supports WebPush, FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging), and APNs (Apple Push Notification Service).

9. Configuration Management

   • Supports remote configuration via databases, AWS Secrets manager or files.
   • Dynamic reloading of configurations without restarting the server.

10. Security

    • CSRF protection, cookie sessions, API tokens and rate limiting.
    • JWT (JSON Web Tokens) support for authentication.
    • ACL base authorization.

Optional Modules

1. Log watcher, notify about errors by parsing log files

2. Image composing with Sharp.js from JSON schema, supports avatars, shadows, outline fonts, wrapping, padding

3. Web scraping with Puppeteer

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Configuration

The runtime can be configured via:

• Command-line arguments (e.g., -db-pg-pool pg://localhost/dbname).
• Configuration files (e.g., bkjs.conf).
• Environment variables (e.g., BKJS_DB_POOL=pg://localhost/dbname).
• Database (e. g. -db-config dynamodb)
• AWS Secrets Manager (e. g. -aws-config-secrets production-worker)
• AWS S3 file (e. g. -aws-config-s3-file mybucket/config)
• AWS Config Parameters Store (e. g. -aws-config-parameters /my-config)

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Deployment

• Docker: Can be containerized for easy deployment, no init-shim required.
• AWS ECS/EC2: Can be deployed on AWS for cloud scalability.

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Getting started

Visit the tutorial.

Check out examples.

Full documentation

Visit the docs.

License

MIT

Author

Vlad Seryakov