If you’re a Node.js developer, chances are you have, at some point, used Express.js to create your applications or APIs. Express.js is a very popular Node.js framework, and even has some other frameworks built on top of it such as Sails.js, kraken.js, KeystoneJS and many others. However, amidst this popularity, a bunch of other frameworks have been gaining attention in the JavaScript world, such as Koa and hapi.
In this article, we’ll examine Express.js, Koa and hapi.js — their similarities, differences and use cases.
Background
Let’s firstly introduce each of these frameworks separately.
Express.js
Express.js is described as the standard server framework for Node.js. It was created by TJ Holowaychuk, acquired by StrongLoop in 2014, and is currently maintained by the Node.js Foundation incubator. With about 170+ million downloads in the last year, it’s currently beyond doubt that it’s the most popular Node.js framework.
Koa
Development began on Koa in late 2013 by the same guys at Express. It’s referred to as the future of Express. Koa is also described as a much more modern, modular and minimalistic version of the Express framework.
Hapi.js
Hapi.js was developed by the team at Walmart Labs (led by Eran Hammer) after they tried Express and discovered that it didn’t work for their requirements. It was originally developed on top of Express, but as time went by, it grew into a full-fledged framework.
Fun Fact: hapi is short for Http API server.
Philosophy
Now that we have some background on the frameworks and how they were created, let’s compare each of them based on important concepts, such as their philosophy, routing, and so on.
Note: all code examples are in ES6 and make use of version 4 of Express.js, 2.4 of Koa, and 17 for hapi.js.
Express.js
Express was built to be a simple, unopinionated web framework. From its GitHub README:
The Express philosophy is to provide small, robust tooling for HTTP servers, making it a great solution for single page applications, web sites, hybrids, or public HTTP APIs.
Express.js is minimal and doesn’t possess many features out of the box. It doesn’t force things like file structure, ORM or templating engine.
Koa
While Express.js is minimal, Koa can boast a much more minimalistic code footprint — around 2k LOC. Its aim is to allow developers be even more expressive. Like Express.js, it can easily be extended by using existing or custom plugins and middleware. It’s more futuristic in its approach, in that it relies heavily on the relatively new JavaScript features like generators and async/await.
Hapi.js
Hapi.js focusses more on configuration and provides a lot more features out of the box than Koa and Express.js. Eran Hammer, one of the creators of hapi, described the reason for building the framework properly in his blog post:
hapi was created around the idea that configuration is better than code, that business logic must be isolated from the transport layer, and that native node constructs like buffers and stream should be supported as first class objects.
Starting a Server
Starting a server is one of the basic things we’d need to do in our projects. Let’s examine how it can be done in the different frameworks. We’ll start a server and listen on port 3000 in each example.
Express.js
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
app.listen(3000, () => console.log('App is listening on port 3000!'));
Starting a server in Express.js is as simple as requiring the express
package, initializing the express
app to the app
variable and calling the app.listen()
method, which is just a wrapper around the native Node.js http.createServer() method.
Koa
Starting a server in Koa is quite similar to Express.js:
const Koa = require('koa');
const app = new Koa();
app.listen(3000, () => console.log('App is listening on port 3000!'));
The app.listen()
method in Koa is also a wrapper around the http.createServer()
method.
Hapi.js
Starting a server in hapi.js is quite a departure from what many of us may be used to from Express:
const Hapi = require('hapi');
const server = Hapi.server({
host: 'localhost',
port: 3000
});
async function start() {
try {
await server.start();
}
catch (err) {
console.log(err);
process.exit(1);
}
console.log('Server running at:', server.info.uri);
};
start();
In the code block above, first we require the hapi
package, then instantiate a server with Hapi.server()
, which has a single config object argument containing the host and port parameters. Then we start the server with the asynchronous server.start()
function.
Unlike in Express.js and Koa, the server.start()
function in hapi is not a wrapper around the native http.createServer()
method. It instead implements its own custom logic.
The above code example is from the hapi.js website, and shows the importance the creators of hapi.js place on configuration and error handling.
Routing
Routing is another key aspect of modern web applications. Let’s define a /hello
route for a simple Hello World app in each framework to have a feel of how routing works for them.
Express.js
app.get('/hello', (req, res) => res.send('Hello World!'));
Creating routes in Express is as simple as calling the app
object with the required HTTP method. The syntax is app.METHOD(PATH, HANDLER)
, where PATH is the path on the server and HANDLER is function which is called when the path is matched.
Koa
Koa doesn’t have its own router bundled with it, so we’ll have to use a router middleware to handle routing on Koa apps. Two common routing options are koa-route and koa-router. Here’s an example using koa-route:
const route = require('koa-route');
app.use(route.get('/hello', ctx => {
ctx.body = 'Hello World!';
}));
We can see immediately that Koa needs each route to be defined as a middleware on the app. The ctx
is a context object that contains Node’s request
and response
objects. ctx.body
is a method in the response
object and can be used to set the response body to either a string
, Buffer
, Stream
, Object
or null
. The second parameter for the route method can be an async or generator function, so the use of callbacks in reduced.
Hapi.js
server.route({
method: 'GET',
path:'/hello',
handler: function (request, h) {
return 'Hello world!';
}
});
The server.route()
method in hapi takes a single config object with the following parameters: method
, path
and handler
. You can see the documentation on routing in hapi here.
The request
parameter in the handler function is an object which contains the user’s request details, while the h
parameter is described as a response toolkit.
Middleware
One of the major concepts Node developers are used to is working with middleware. Middleware functions are functions that sit in between requests and responses. They have access to the request
and response
objects and can run the next middleware after they’re processed. Let’s take a look at how they’re defined in the different frameworks by implementing a simple function that logs the time a request is made to the server.
Express.js
app.use((req, res, next) => {
console.log(`Time: ${Date.now()}`);
next();
})
Registering middleware in Express.js is as simple as binding the middleware to the app object by using the app.use()
function. You can read more on middleware in Express.js here.
Koa
app.use(async (ctx, next) => {
console.log(`Time: ${Date.now()}`);
await next();
});
Middleware registration in Koa is similar to Express.js. The major differences are that the context object (ctx
) is used in place of the request
and response
objects in Express.js and Koa embraces the modern async/await paradigm for defining the middleware function.
Hapi.js
server.ext('onRequest', (request, h) => {
console.log(`Time: ${Date.now()}`);
return h.continue;
});
In hapi.js there are certain extension points in the request lifecyle. The server.ext()
method registers an extension function to be called at a certain point in the request life cycle. You can read more about it here. We make use of the onRequest
extension point in the example above to register a middleware (or extension) function.
Usage
From the comparisons and code examples we’ve seen above, it’s clear that Express and Koa are the most similar, with hapi.js being the framework to deviate from the norm that Node.js devs are used to. Hence hapi.js may not be the best choice when trying to build a quick and easy app, as it will take a bit of time to get used to.
In my opinion, Express is still a great choice when building small- to medium-sized applications. It can become a bit complicated to manage for very large applications, as it doesn’t possess the modularity hapi.js has built into it, with support for custom plugins and its unique routing method. However, there’s been some speculation in recent times regarding the future of Express.js as TJ announced he’s no longer working on it and the reduced rate at which updates are shipped. Bit it’s pretty stable and willn’t be going away any time soon. It also has a large community of developers building various extensions and plugins for it.
Like Express.js, Koa is well suited for many simple Node.js projects. It only consists of the bare minimum (it has zero in-built middleware) and encourages developers to add what they need to it by building or making use of available external middleware. It makes use of modern JavaScript generator functions and async/await heavily, which makes it sort of futuristic in its approach. Its middleware cascading pattern is also great, as it makes implementing and understanding the flow of middleware in your applications very easy. Koa probably won’t be a great choice for you if you aren’t yet ready to embrace new shiny things like generator functions, or if you’re not willing to spend some time building out all the middleware you need. The community support for Koa is rapidly growing, as it has a good amount of external middleware already built for it (some by the core Koa team) for common tasks such as routing, logging and so on.
Hapi.js is the definite choice if you and your team prefer to spend more time configuring than actually coding out features. It was built to be modular and for large applications with large teams. It encourgages the micro-service architecture, as various parts of your app can be built as plugins and registered in your server before starting it up. Hapi.js is backed by large companies such as Auth0 and Lob, so it has a pretty good future ahead of it and won’t be going away anytime soon. It’s also trusted by some big names, as seen on their community page.
Hapi.js has a whole lot more features out of the box than Koa and Express.js, such as support for authentication, caching, logging, validation and so on, which makes it feel more like a full-fledged framework. You can check out their tutorials page to get a good feel of the features they provide. There aren’t yet very many open-source projects and plugins built on and for hapi.js, so a lot of work might need to be done by developers using it if they plan to extend its core functionality.
Conclusion
All three frameworks are great choices when starting up new projects, but ultimately your choice will be based on the project requirements, your team members and the level of flexibility you’re looking for.
Frequently Asked Questions about Express, Koa, and Hapi
What are the key differences between Express, Koa, and Hapi?
Express, Koa, and Hapi are all popular Node.js frameworks, but they each have their unique features and advantages. Express is the most mature and widely used, known for its simplicity and flexibility. It has a large community and a wealth of middleware. Koa, developed by the same team behind Express, is a more modern and lightweight framework. It leverages ES6 features and has a more expressive and robust foundation for web applications and APIs. Hapi, on the other hand, is a rich framework for building applications and services. It enables developers to focus on writing reusable application logic and provides out-of-the-box support for input validation, caching, authentication, and more.
Which framework is best for beginners: Express, Koa, or Hapi?
For beginners, Express is often recommended due to its simplicity, extensive documentation, and large community. It’s easy to get started with and there are many resources available for learning. However, Koa and Hapi also have their merits and can be suitable for beginners depending on their specific needs and the project requirements.
How does the performance of Express, Koa, and Hapi compare?
In terms of performance, all three frameworks are quite efficient and capable of handling high loads. However, there can be slight differences depending on the specific use case. For instance, Koa is known for its lightweight design and efficient handling of asynchronous operations, which can lead to better performance in some scenarios.
Can I switch from Express to Koa or Hapi easily?
Switching from one framework to another can require some effort, as each has its own way of handling things like routing, middleware, and error handling. However, if you’re familiar with Node.js and JavaScript, you should be able to make the transition with some study and practice.
What are some common use cases for Express, Koa, and Hapi?
Express is often used for building web applications and APIs, due to its flexibility and simplicity. Koa, with its more expressive and robust foundation, is well-suited for complex applications that require efficient handling of asynchronous operations. Hapi, with its rich feature set, is ideal for building robust applications and services, particularly when you need out-of-the-box support for things like input validation, caching, and authentication.
How does error handling differ between Express, Koa, and Hapi?
Error handling is one area where these frameworks differ significantly. Express uses middleware for error handling, while Koa uses try/catch blocks, making it easier to manage errors. Hapi has a built-in error handling mechanism, which can be more convenient but also less flexible.
What kind of support and community does each framework have?
All three frameworks have active communities and are well-supported. Express, being the oldest and most widely used, has the largest community and the most resources available. Koa, while newer, has a growing community and the backing of the team behind Express. Hapi also has a strong community and is known for its comprehensive documentation and support.
How do Express, Koa, and Hapi handle middleware?
Express uses a simple, flexible system for middleware, allowing you to add functionality at any point in the request-response cycle. Koa uses a more modern, streamlined approach to middleware, leveraging ES6’s generator functions for more efficient asynchronous operations. Hapi, meanwhile, has a rich plugin system that can be used to add functionality.
Are there any notable companies or projects using Express, Koa, or Hapi?
Yes, all three frameworks are used by notable companies and projects. Express is used by companies like IBM, Uber, and Twitter. Koa is used by companies like Alibaba and Paralect. Hapi is used by companies like Walmart, Conde Nast, and Auth0.
How do I choose between Express, Koa, and Hapi for my project?
The choice between Express, Koa, and Hapi depends on your specific needs and the requirements of your project. Consider factors like the complexity of your application, your familiarity with the framework, the community and resources available, and the specific features and advantages of each framework.
Olayinka is a self-taught full stack developer from Lagos. He spends his time tweeting, doing academic research, taking photographs, designing and writing code... You know, the usual fun things.