Node.js DeploymentLesson 79Free preview

Node Dev vs Prod

This lesson is part of Node.js · All levels

Summary

This lesson explains the differences between development and production environments in the application. You'll understand the role of NODE_ENV, the difference in levels, the error handling, and the proper configuration for each mode. By separating the two, the app becomes more secure, faster, and easier to monitor when released. (Node.js)

Key points

NODE_ENV marks the mode: 'development', 'production', or 'test'.
In development: verbose, stack trace detail, hot reload/mode --watch.
In production: Structured (JSON), stack trace is hidden from the client, and caching is enabled.
Many libraries behave differently according to NODE_ENV (e.g. Express 'development' vs 'production').
Avoid turning on the debug inspector or dummy data in production.

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