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Error Handling

Robust error handling ensures your MongoNext app is reliable, debuggable, and user-friendly. Follow these best practices for catching, logging, and displaying errors:

1. Try/Catch for Async Operations​

  • Always wrap async/await code in try/catch blocks.
  • Return meaningful error messages to the client, but avoid exposing sensitive details.

Example:

try {
  const user = await User.create({ email, password });
} catch (err) {
  // Handle duplicate email, validation errors, etc.
  res.status(400).json({ error: 'Registration failed', message: err.message });
}

2. API Error Responses​

  • Use appropriate HTTP status codes (400, 401, 404, 500).
  • Include a message field in error responses for debugging.
  • Never expose stack traces or sensitive data in production.

3. React Error Boundaries​

  • Use React error boundaries to catch and display errors in the UI.
  • Show user-friendly error messages and offer a way to retry or go back.

Example:

class ErrorBoundary extends React.Component {
  state = { hasError: false };
  static getDerivedStateFromError() { return { hasError: true }; }
  render() {
    if (this.state.hasError) {
      return <div>Something went wrong. Please try again later.</div>;
    }
    return this.props.children;
  }
}

4. Logging & Monitoring​

  • Log errors to the console in development and to a monitoring service (e.g., Sentry) in production.
  • Monitor server logs and API error rates for issues.

5. User Feedback​

  • Show clear, actionable error messages to users (e.g., form validation errors).
  • Avoid technical jargon in user-facing messages.

6. Debugging Tips​

  • Use browser dev tools and server logs to trace errors.
  • Add helpful comments and error messages in your code.
  • Test error scenarios (invalid input, network failures, etc.) during development.

Handling errors gracefully, you'll improve reliability and user trust in your MongoNext app.