This guide teaches how to build a simple Blog Article CRUD API using:
- Node.js – runtime to run JavaScript on the server
- Express – web framework for building APIs
- MongoDB – NoSQL database
- Mongoose – MongoDB ODM (object-document mapper)
🛠️ Step 1: Setup the Project
1. Create a folder and initialize npm:
mkdir blog-crud && cd blog-crud npm init -y 2. Install required packages:
npm install express mongoose body-parser -
express: Web framework -
mongoose: Connect and interact with MongoDB -
body-parser: Parse incoming JSON request bodies
📁 Step 2: Project Structure
Organize your project files like this:
blog-crud/ ├── models/ │ └── Article.js # Mongoose schema ├── routes/ │ └── articles.js # Route handlers ├── server.js # Main app entry ├── package.json 🚀 Step 3: Create the Express Server (server.js)
const express = require('express'); const mongoose = require('mongoose'); const bodyParser = require('body-parser'); const articleRoutes = require('./routes/articles'); const app = express(); // Middleware to parse JSON app.use(bodyParser.json()); // Route prefix: All article routes will start with /api/articles app.use('/api/articles', articleRoutes); // Connect to MongoDB mongoose.connect('mongodb://localhost:27017/blog_crud', { useNewUrlParser: true, useUnifiedTopology: true }).then(() => console.log('✅ MongoDB Connected')) .catch(err => console.error('❌ DB Connection Error:', err)); // Start the server app.listen(3000, () => console.log('🚀 Server running at http://localhost:3000')); Explanation:
- This is your main app file.
- It sets up Express, connects to MongoDB, and loads article routes.
📦 Step 4: Create the Article Schema (models/Article.js)
const mongoose = require('mongoose'); const articleSchema = new mongoose.Schema({ title: String, content: String, author: String, createdAt: { type: Date, default: Date.now } }); module.exports = mongoose.model('Article', articleSchema); Explanation:
- Defines the structure of each Blog Article in the database.
- Includes fields like
title,content,author, andcreatedAt.
🔁 Step 5: Create CRUD Routes (routes/articles.js)
const express = require('express'); const router = express.Router(); const Article = require('../models/Article'); 🔹 1. Create a new Article (POST /api/articles)
router.post('/', async (req, res) => { try { const article = await Article.create(req.body); res.status(201).json(article); } catch (err) { res.status(400).json({ error: err.message }); } }); Accepts JSON
{ title, content, author }and stores it in the database.
🔹 2. Read All Articles (GET /api/articles)
router.get('/', async (req, res) => { try { const articles = await Article.find(); res.json(articles); } catch (err) { res.status(500).json({ error: err.message }); } }); Returns all articles stored in the database.
🔹 3. Read a Single Article by ID (GET /api/articles/:id)
router.get('/:id', async (req, res) => { try { const article = await Article.findById(req.params.id); if (!article) return res.status(404).json({ message: 'Not found' }); res.json(article); } catch (err) { res.status(500).json({ error: err.message }); } }); Fetches a specific article using its ID.
🔹 4. Update an Article (PUT /api/articles/:id)
router.put('/:id', async (req, res) => { try { const updated = await Article.findByIdAndUpdate( req.params.id, req.body, { new: true } // return the updated document ); if (!updated) return res.status(404).json({ message: 'Not found' }); res.json(updated); } catch (err) { res.status(400).json({ error: err.message }); } }); Edits article details like title or content.
🔹 5. Delete an Article (DELETE /api/articles/:id)
router.delete('/:id', async (req, res) => { try { const deleted = await Article.findByIdAndDelete(req.params.id); if (!deleted) return res.status(404).json({ message: 'Not found' }); res.json({ message: '✅ Article deleted' }); } catch (err) { res.status(500).json({ error: err.message }); } }); Deletes the selected article from the database.
Finally routes/articles.js
const express = require('express'); const router = express.Router(); const Article = require('../models/Article'); // ✅ Create an article router.post('/', async (req, res) => { try { const article = await Article.create(req.body); res.status(201).json(article); } catch (err) { res.status(400).json({ error: err.message }); } }); // 📖 Get all articles router.get('/', async (req, res) => { try { const articles = await Article.find(); res.json(articles); } catch (err) { res.status(500).json({ error: err.message }); } }); // 📄 Get a single article by ID router.get('/:id', async (req, res) => { try { const article = await Article.findById(req.params.id); if (!article) return res.status(404).json({ message: 'Not found' }); res.json(article); } catch (err) { res.status(500).json({ error: err.message }); } }); // ✏️ Update an article router.put('/:id', async (req, res) => { try { const updated = await Article.findByIdAndUpdate(req.params.id, req.body, { new: true }); if (!updated) return res.status(404).json({ message: 'Not found' }); res.json(updated); } catch (err) { res.status(400).json({ error: err.message }); } }); // ❌ Delete an article router.delete('/:id', async (req, res) => { try { const deleted = await Article.findByIdAndDelete(req.params.id); if (!deleted) return res.status(404).json({ message: 'Not found' }); res.json({ message: 'Article deleted' }); } catch (err) { res.status(500).json({ error: err.message }); } }); module.exports = router; 🧪 Step 6: Testing the API
Use tools like Postman, Insomnia, or curl:
- Create:
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/articles \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"title": "My First Blog", "content": "Hello world!", "author": "Xavier"}' - Read All:
curl http://localhost:3000/api/articles - Read One:
curl http://localhost:3000/api/articles/<article_id> - Update:
curl -X PUT http://localhost:3000/api/articles/<article_id> \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"title": "Updated Title"}' - Delete:
curl -X DELETE http://localhost:3000/api/articles/<article_id> ✅ Final Notes
- Make sure MongoDB is running locally (
mongodb://localhost:27017) - Keep practicing with different data
- You can later connect this API to a front-end using React or Vue
- Keep exploring how to implement validation. https://dev.to/ncutixavier/add-joi-validation-middleware-cda
Top comments (0)