Introduction
When I started building fullstack projects in university, my first Node.js backend was one giant index.js file with Express routes piled on top of each other. It worked, but every time the project grew, maintaining it became a nightmare: global variables everywhere, business logic mixed with validation, and forget about writing a test. That's when I discovered NestJS, and I quickly understood why so many companies —from startups to banks and large platforms— choose it for their production backend systems.
In this post I'll walk you through what makes NestJS special, why it carries so much weight in the industry, what it looks like in practice, and why I think it's worth trying on your next project.
What exactly is NestJS?
NestJS is a progressive framework for building backend applications with Node.js, written in TypeScript from the ground up (though it also supports plain JavaScript). It's heavily inspired by Angular: it uses decorators, modules, dependency injection, and a layered architecture that pushes you —in a good way— to organize your code predictably and consistently across the whole team.
Under the hood it can run on top of Express or Fastify, so it doesn't reinvent the HTTP server wheel: it organizes it, types it, and gives it a structure that scales with team size, not just codebase size.
Why NestJS is gaining ground in the industry
1. Real modular architecture
NestJS structures code into Modules, Controllers, and Providers (services). This isn't just cosmetic: it lets large teams work in parallel on different business domains (users, payments, notifications) without stepping on each other, each domain encapsulated in its own module.
@Module({
imports: [UsersModule, AuthModule, PaymentsModule],
controllers: [AppController],
providers: [AppService],
})
export class AppModule {}2. Dependency injection done right
NestJS's DI system makes testing, mocking, and swapping implementations trivial —almost free. That's crucial for companies where code needs to survive team turnover, constant refactors, and years of maintenance without anyone being afraid to touch it.
3. TypeScript as a first-class citizen
It's not a JavaScript framework with types bolted on: TypeScript is baked into the design. This cuts down on runtime errors, makes autocomplete precise, and turns safe refactoring into an everyday habit instead of a luxury.
4. A production-ready ecosystem
NestJS ships official or very mature solutions for nearly everything an enterprise backend needs: automatic validation (class-validator), interactive documentation via Swagger, microservices (TCP, Redis, Kafka, gRPC), queues with Bull/BullMQ, GraphQL, real-time WebSockets, Passport/JWT authentication, caching, scheduled tasks — all integrated coherently, instead of having to stitch together twenty separate libraries yourself.
5. Convention over configuration
Unlike Express, where every team ends up inventing its own way of structuring a project, NestJS enforces clear conventions. That means a new developer can join any NestJS project —yours or someone else's— and recognize the pattern almost immediately. Less onboarding time, fewer style debates.
A quick example: a complete endpoint
Look at how cleanly responsibilities are separated:
Ready to take your project to a real server?
npm run start:dev is great for local development, but sooner or later your NestJS API needs a stable place to live: real uptime, full control over the Node.js environment, and room to run Redis, queues, or a database right next to your backend. That's where Teramont's VPS Hosting plans come in: deploy your NestJS project in minutes and test it on your own server, without the limits of shared hosting.
Get Ready with Teramont VPS@Controller('users')
export class UsersController {
constructor(private readonly usersService: UsersService) {}
@Get(':id')
findOne(@Param('id') id: string) {
return this.usersService.findOne(id);
}
}
@Injectable()
export class UsersService {
findOne(id: string) {
// business logic, data access, etc.
return { id, name: 'Yiuseppe' };
}
}Notice how the controller only orchestrates: it receives the request and delegates. The real logic lives in the service, isolated and easy to test on its own. This simple separation is the foundation of why NestJS scales so well when a project grows from 5 to 50 endpoints.
When NOT to use NestJS
To be honest: if you're building a very small microservice, a quick prototype, or a simple serverless function, NestJS's structure can feel heavier than what you need. Minimalist frameworks like Express or plain Fastify are still better fits for those specific cases.
I invite you to try it this week
If you're coming from Express and feel like your code is getting messier as it grows, or you're starting a new project and want a solid foundation from day one, give NestJS a real shot. Getting started takes almost nothing:
npm i -g @nestjs/cli
nest new my-project
cd my-project
npm run start:devIn under five minutes you'll have a server running with a structure you'll thank yourself for choosing months later. Challenge yourself to build a small CRUD this weekend —a blog, a to-do list, whatever— and compare how it feels against whatever you've used before.
Conclusion
NestJS isn't just "Express on steroids": it's a bet on writing backend code that's disciplined, testable, and scalable from day one. That's why companies with large teams and complex systems keep adopting it —and why it keeps showing up more often in backend job listings.
Have you tried it already? Let me know in the comments how the learning curve went, or if you have questions getting your first project off the ground.
