Overview & Philosophy

NodeFrame is a lightweight, zero-dependency Node.js backend framework built on top of native Node.js core HTTP APIs (http.createServer, IncomingMessage, ServerResponse).

npm install @harshitclub/nodeframe

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Why NodeFrame?

When building modern backend applications in JavaScript, developers frequently use frameworks like Express or Fastify without understanding the low-level machinery underneath.

NodeFrame was created with a clear objective: to build a clean, production-grade request/response lifecycle from first principles using Node.js core modules, without bloated abstractions or heavy dependency graphs.

Core Principles

1. Zero External Runtime Dependencies: Everything in NodeFrame runs on pure Node.js core APIs (http, buffer, url). When you install @harshitclub/nodeframe, your node_modules stays virtually weightless.

2. Non-destructive Object Enhancement: Instead of wrapping Node.js request and response objects in bulky wrapper classes, NodeFrame directly enhances native IncomingMessage and ServerResponse instances with chainable, convenient helper methods (res.json(), res.status(), req.query, etc.).

3. Explicit Execution Pipelines: Middlewares and error handlers execute sequentially through a deterministic next() pipeline with separated normal and error handling stages.

4. Predictable Performance: Because there are no heavy internal abstractions, overhead is minimal and predictable.

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Feature Comparison

Capability	NodeFrame	Raw http Module	Heavy Frameworks
Routing	HTTP method & dynamic segment matching	Manual URL parsing & if/else	Full regex / radix tree
Route Params	:id extracted into req.params	Manual substring splitting	Param extraction
Query Params	Parsed req.query via WHATWG URL	Manual URLSearchParams	Parsed query string
JSON Parser	Built-in streaming parseJsonBody	Manual req.on('data') buffers	External dependency (body-parser)
Cookie Setting	res.cookie() with secure defaults	Manual Set-Cookie header syntax	External dependency (cookie-parser)
Error Handling	Isolated 4-arg error middleware	Uncaught exception crashes	Complex error layers
Rate Limiter	Built-in in-memory fixed window	Must implement yourself	External dependency (express-rate-limit)
Request Logger	Built-in logger() with duration	Must implement yourself	External dependency (morgan)
Dependencies	0 external dependencies	0	Dozens / Hundreds

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What's Next?

Ready to build your first server? Jump to the Quick Start guide.