Why modular routing matters in Express - See It in Action

Why Modular Routing Matters in Express

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple web server using Express.js. As your app grows, you want to keep your routes organized and easy to manage.

🎯 Goal: Create a modular routing setup by separating routes into their own file and then use them in the main Express app.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a route module file with a router

Add a configuration variable for the base path

Use the router in the main app with the base path

Export and import the router correctly

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Large Express apps often have many routes. Modular routing keeps code clean and manageable.

💼 Career

Understanding modular routing is essential for backend developers working with Express to build scalable web servers.

1

Create a router module with a simple route

Create a file called users.js that exports an Express router. Inside it, create a GET route for / that sends the text 'User list'.

Express

// Your code here to create and export the router with GET '/' route

Need a hint?

Use express.Router() to create a router. Then add a GET route on '/' that sends 'User list'. Export the router as default.

2

Add a base path configuration variable

In your main app file app.js, create a variable called usersBasePath and set it to '/users'.

Express

// Your code here to create usersBasePath variable

Need a hint?

Just create a constant variable named usersBasePath and assign it the string '/users'.

3

Use the router module in the main app with the base path

In app.js, import the users router from './users.js'. Then use app.use(usersBasePath, users) to mount the router on the base path.

Express

import users from './users.js';

// Your code here to use the router with app.use

Need a hint?

Import the router from './users.js' and use app.use() with usersBasePath and users to mount it.

4

Complete the Express app with listen

Add app.listen(3000) to start the server on port 3000.

Express

// Your code here to start the server

Need a hint?

Use app.listen(3000) to start the server on port 3000.