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<ZodTypeProvider>();

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<TypeBoxTypeProvider>();

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