Fastify (TypeScript) - Production Backend Framework Overview
Fastify is a high-performance Node.js web framework built around JSON schema validation, encapsulated plugins, and great developer ergonomics. In TypeScript, pair Fastify with a type provider (Zod or TypeBox) to keep runtime validation and static types aligned.
Quick Start Minimal server
✅ Correct: basic server with typed response
import Fastify from "fastify";
const app = Fastify({ logger: true });
app.get("/health", async () => ({ status: "ok" as const }));
await app.listen({ host: "0.0.0.0", port: 3000 });
❌ Wrong: start server without awaiting listen
app.listen({ port: 3000 }); console.log("started"); // races startup and hides bind failures
Schema Validation + Type Providers
Fastify validates requests/responses via JSON schema. Use a type provider to avoid duplicating types.
Zod provider (recommended for full-stack TypeScript)
✅ Correct: Zod schema drives validation + types
import Fastify from "fastify"; import { z } from "zod"; import { ZodTypeProvider } from "fastify-type-provider-zod";
const app = Fastify({ logger: true }).withTypeProvider
const Query = z.object({ q: z.string().min(1) });
app.get( "/search", { schema: { querystring: Query } }, async (req) => { return { q: req.query.q }; }, );
await app.listen({ port: 3000 });
TypeBox provider (recommended for OpenAPI + performance)
✅ Correct: TypeBox schema
import Fastify from "fastify"; import { Type } from "@sinclair/typebox"; import { TypeBoxTypeProvider } from "@fastify/type-provider-typebox";
const app = Fastify({ logger: true }).withTypeProvider
const Params = Type.Object({ id: Type.String({ minLength: 1 }) }); const Reply = Type.Object({ id: Type.String() });
app.get( "/users/:id", { schema: { params: Params, response: { 200: Reply } } }, async (req) => ({ id: req.params.id }), );
await app.listen({ port: 3000 });
Plugin Architecture (Encapsulation)
Use plugins to keep concerns isolated and testable (auth, db, routes).
✅ Correct: route plugin
import type { FastifyPluginAsync } from "fastify";
export const usersRoutes: FastifyPluginAsync = async (app) => { app.get("/", async () => [{ id: "1" }]); app.get("/:id", async (req) => ({ id: (req.params as any).id })); };
✅ Correct: register with a prefix
app.register(usersRoutes, { prefix: "/api/v1/users" });
Error Handling
Centralize unexpected failures and return stable error shapes.
✅ Correct: setErrorHandler
app.setErrorHandler((err, req, reply) => { req.log.error({ err }, "request failed"); reply.status(500).send({ error: "internal" as const }); });
Security Hardening (Baseline)
Add standard security plugins and enforce payload limits.
✅ Correct: Helmet + CORS + rate limiting
import helmet from "@fastify/helmet"; import cors from "@fastify/cors"; import rateLimit from "@fastify/rate-limit";
await app.register(helmet); await app.register(cors, { origin: false }); await app.register(rateLimit, { max: 100, timeWindow: "1 minute" });
Graceful Shutdown
Close HTTP server and downstream clients (DB, queues) on SIGINT/SIGTERM.
✅ Correct: close on signals
const close = async (signal: string) => { app.log.info({ signal }, "shutting down"); await app.close(); process.exit(0); };
process.on("SIGINT", () => void close("SIGINT")); process.on("SIGTERM", () => void close("SIGTERM"));
Testing (Fastify inject)
Test routes in-memory without binding ports.
✅ Correct: inject request
import Fastify from "fastify"; import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
describe("health", () => { it("returns ok", async () => { const app = Fastify(); app.get("/health", async () => ({ status: "ok" as const }));
const res = await app.inject({ method: "GET", url: "/health" });
expect(res.statusCode).toBe(200);
expect(res.json()).toEqual({ status: "ok" });
}); });
Decision Trees Fastify vs Express Prefer Fastify for schema-based validation, predictable plugins, and high throughput. Prefer Express for minimal middleware and maximal ecosystem familiarity. Zod vs TypeBox Prefer Zod for app codebases that already standardize on Zod (forms, tRPC, shared types). Prefer TypeBox for OpenAPI generation and performance-critical validation. Anti-Patterns Skip request validation; validate at boundaries with schemas. Register everything in main.ts; isolate routes and dependencies into plugins. Return raw error objects; return stable error shapes and log the details. Resources Fastify: https://www.fastify.io/ fastify-type-provider-zod: https://github.com/turkerdev/fastify-type-provider-zod @fastify/type-provider-typebox: https://github.com/fastify/fastify-type-provider-typebox