Express - lesson 8 | HackIndia Skills

Key point

One job

Your repo must answer one recruiter question fast: can I run this API and see the required backend skills?

Do not make them inspect every file. Put the run steps, env setup, routes, and example requests in the README.

What recruiters check

They will usually scan your folder structure, package scripts, README, and routes before reading deeper code. Your project should show Express 5 routes, middleware, body and query handling, status codes, env variables, and one centralized error handler.

Use Node.js 24 LTS for this track. Node.js 26 is the current non-LTS line, but production-oriented beginner projects should use an LTS release.

Your to-do

Clean the repo

Do each one yourself, then tap it to tick it off. The ticks are only a checklist for you: they are not marked or scored.

Delete unused files, old test code, console experiments, and copied tutorial notes.
Check that secrets are not committed. Keep real keys out of Git.
Add an env example file with safe placeholder values.
Run the API from a fresh terminal using only the README steps.
Commit only after the project runs cleanly.

0 of 5 done

Example

Useful files

A simple structure is enough. Make the important parts easy to find.

your-api/
  src/
    app.js
    server.js
    routes/
      jobs.routes.js
    middleware/
      requestLogger.js
      errorHandler.js
    controllers/
      jobs.controller.js
  .env.example
  .gitignore
  package.json
  README.md

Example

README starter

Write your README for someone who has your GitHub link and five minutes. Include exact commands and a few sample requests.

# Campus Jobs API

Express 5 API built with Node.js 24 LTS.

## Features
- Routes for jobs
- Router-level middleware
- Request body, query, and params handling
- Meaningful HTTP status codes
- Environment variables
- Centralized error handling

## Run locally
1. Install dependencies
   npm install

2. Create env file
   cp .env.example .env

3. Start the API
   npm run dev

## Environment variables
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development

## Example requests
GET /api/jobs?location=Pune
GET /api/jobs/1
POST /api/jobs
Body: { "title": "Backend Intern", "company": "Demo Startup" }

## Tech
Node.js 24 LTS, Express 5

Tip

Use AI carefully

Ask an AI tool to review your README like a recruiter. Prompt it with your folder tree and ask: “Can you run this API from these instructions? What is missing?”

Check every suggestion. AI may invent scripts, routes, files, or commands that do not exist in your repo.

Common mistake

Common publish mistakes

Do not commit your real .env file. Commit .env.example instead. Also avoid README claims that your code does not prove.

Do not use old Express 4 response examples like res.json(obj, status). In Express 5, use res.status(status).json(obj).