How Node.js Helps You Land a Full Stack Developer Job Faster

// Runs in the browser (e.g., inside a React component or plain script)
async function loadTasks() {
  const res = await fetch('/api/tasks');
  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`failed: ${res.status}`);
  const tasks = await res.json();
  const list = document.querySelector('#tasks');
  list.innerHTML = '';
  for (const t of tasks) {
    const li = document.createElement('li');
    li.textContent = t.done ? `✔ ${t.title}` : t.title;
    list.appendChild(li);
  }
}
loadTasks().catch(err => console.error(err));

// npm install express   Run: node server.js
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
app.use(express.static('public'));   // serves the front end files

const tasks = [{ id: 1, title: 'Learn Express', done: false }];

app.get('/api/tasks', (req, res) => res.json(tasks));

app.listen(3000, () => console.log('http://localhost:3000'));

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

let tasks = [];
let nextId = 1;

app.get('/api/tasks', (req, res) => res.json(tasks));

app.post('/api/tasks', (req, res) => {
  const { title } = req.body;
  if (typeof title !== 'string' || !title.trim()) {
    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'title is required' });
  }
  const task = { id: nextId++, title: title.trim(), done: false };
  tasks.push(task);
  res.status(201).json(task);
});

app.patch('/api/tasks/:id', (req, res) => {
  const task = tasks.find(t => t.id === Number(req.params.id));
  if (!task) return res.status(404).json({ error: 'not found' });
  if (typeof req.body.done === 'boolean') task.done = req.body.done;
  res.json(task);
});

app.delete('/api/tasks/:id', (req, res) => {
  const before = tasks.length;
  tasks = tasks.filter(t => t.id !== Number(req.params.id));
  if (tasks.length === before) return res.status(404).json({ error: 'not found' });
  res.status(204).end();
});

module.exports = app;
if (require.main === module) app.listen(3000);

// npm install --save-dev jest supertest   Run: npx jest
const request = require('supertest');
const app = require('./server');

test('creates and lists a task', async () => {
  const created = await request(app).post('/api/tasks').send({ title: 'Write tests' });
  expect(created.status).toBe(201);
  const list = await request(app).get('/api/tasks');
  expect(list.body.map(t => t.title)).toContain('Write tests');
});

test('rejects an empty title', async () => {
  const res = await request(app).post('/api/tasks').send({ title: '  ' });
  expect(res.status).toBe(400);
});

// npm install pg   Needs DATABASE_URL in the environment
const { Pool } = require('pg');
const pool = new Pool({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL });

async function createTask(userId, title) {
  // $1, $2 placeholders keep user input out of the SQL text
  const { rows } = await pool.query(
    'INSERT INTO tasks (user_id, title) VALUES ($1, $2) RETURNING id, title, done',
    [userId, title]
  );
  return rows[0];
}

module.exports = { createTask };

// npm install bcrypt
const bcrypt = require('bcrypt');

async function demo() {
  const password = 'correct horse battery staple';
  const hash = await bcrypt.hash(password, 12);   // store only the hash
  console.log('stored hash:', hash.slice(0, 20) + '...');

  console.log('right password:', await bcrypt.compare(password, hash));   // true
  console.log('wrong password:', await bcrypt.compare('guess', hash));    // false
}

demo();

Project: Task manager with login

Front end: React or plain JS; forms, list, filters
Back end: Node.js + Express REST API (CRUD)
Database: PostgreSQL or MongoDB
Auth: register/login with bcrypt; sessions or JWT
Tests: Supertest for API routes
Deploy: front end and API live; secrets in env vars
README: setup steps, API table, screenshots, live link

Week 1  JavaScript and async/await refresher
Week 2  Express routes, JSON, status codes
Week 3  Database: tables or collections, queries
Week 4  Auth: hashing, login, protected routes
Week 5  Front end connected to the API
Week 6  Tests, error handling, deploy, README

Situation: built a task manager to learn full stack
Task: CRUD API, login and a live deployment
Action:
  - Express API with validation and status codes
  - PostgreSQL with parameterised queries
  - bcrypt hashing and protected routes
  - Supertest tests; deployed with env vars
Result: working app at a public URL; can explain each layer