Extracting Express in a seperate module

Big fan of this this framework, good work! I created a REST API with it and it works like a charm.

My use case is an application, which has nothing to do with an webserver. Its a standalone application. Now it would be really nice to still use decorators like @Component or @Module etc. If I would want to have these features, I have to use @nestjs/core as dependency in my application. Now I have the dependency express, even though my application does not even need it.

It would be nice to split the functionality of all the webserver-stuff in a seperate module. For me atleast, that would fit the pattern. Want NestJS? Install @nestjs/core. Need a webserver? Install @nestjs/web. Need websockets? Install @nestjs/websocket Need an orm? Install @nestjs/typeorm

Are there any plans to extract express in an seperate module?

[kamilmysliwiec]

Hi @BrunnerLivio, With v5.0.0 you’ll be able to use various (now express/fastify) adapters. This feature makes Nest a bit more portable and extensible so far. However, the plan is to completely extract express within v6.0.0 which is the next major release. Thanks for convincing me 🙂

[wbhob]

I think we’re taking this idea of “breaking api” too seriously. Things break between major versions, and it’s for the overall, long-term improvement of the library. As long as we’re offering adequate commnunity support (migration guides and explanations, primarily), I think devs will appreciate a cleaner design.