Learn FEATHERSJS with Real Code Examples

FeathersJS provides an abstraction over Express or Koa, adding services, real-time capabilities, and hooks.

Supports both REST and WebSocket APIs out of the box.

Highly modular and can integrate with any database or frontend.

Includes authentication, authorization, and data validation features.

Focused on developer productivity with minimal boilerplate and extensibility.

REST and WebSocket API support

Hooks for request/response lifecycle

Authentication via JWT, OAuth, or local strategies

Flexible database adapters

Error handling and validation built-in

Service - encapsulates API endpoints and business logic

Hook - middleware-like pre/post-processing for services

Adapter - connects services to a database or other data source

Real-time channel - broadcast events over WebSockets

Application - main FeathersJS server instance

src/ - main application code

src/services/ - service definitions

src/hooks/ - service hooks

public/ - static assets

config/ - configuration files

Generate a new FeathersJS project

Define services with CRUD operations

Configure hooks for authentication, validation, or logging

Integrate database adapters for persistence

Enable real-time functionality using channels and events

Beginner: simple REST API with CRUD

Intermediate: API with authentication and validation

Advanced: real-time chat or collaborative apps

Expert: microservices backend with multiple services

Enterprise: scalable backend with full real-time support

FeathersJS vs Express: Feathers adds services, hooks, and real-time on top of Express

FeathersJS vs NestJS: Feathers lightweight and flexible; NestJS structured with decorators

FeathersJS vs Socket.io standalone: Feathers provides full REST + real-time integration

FeathersJS vs LoopBack: LoopBack more enterprise, Feathers simpler and real-time ready

FeathersJS vs Meteor: Feathers smaller, modular, and flexible; Meteor full-stack opinionated

2014 - Initial release by Mikeal Rogers

2015 - Service and hook architecture introduced

2016 - Real-time channel support via Socket.io

2018 - TypeScript support added

2025 - Feathers v5.x with modern Node.js ecosystem support

Service - encapsulated API logic for a resource

Hook - middleware for pre/post-processing

Adapter - connects service to database or external resource

Channel - real-time event stream

Application - main FeathersJS instance