Build a REST API with Node and Express

Node.js · Express · REST · API Architecture

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of rules defining how software applications communicate with each other. A REST API is an API that follows REST (Representational State Transfer) design principles — a set of standards defining a uniform and predictable way for applications to exchange data.

Unlike a traditional server application where the server is responsible for rendering HTML, a REST API simply exchanges JSON data between client and server. The client (e.g., a React application) sends a request, the server responds with JSON data — it's the frontend's job to decide how to display it.