Description
Nest is a TypeScript framework for building backends on Node.js, from a small API in one file to an enterprise-grade system with many teams. It gives an application modules, dependency injection, and one place each for validation, authentication and error handling, so a project keeps its shape as it grows.
It runs on Express, Fastify or Node's own node:http, and its first-party packages cover most of what a backend needs, so you can start small and add them as you go.
Quick start
npx @nestjs/cli new my-api
cd my-api
npm run start:dev
Add --minimal to start from a single file. An application can be this small, and npx tsx src/main.ts runs it with no build step:
import { Controller, Get, Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { NestFactory } from '@nestjs/core';
@Controller()
class AppController {
@Get()
hello() {
return 'Hello, Nest!';
}
}
@Module({ controllers: [AppController] })
class AppModule {}
const app = await NestFactory.create(AppModule);
await app.listen(3000);
tsx doesn't emit decorator metadata, which constructor injection by type and ValidationPipe rely on. Once the application uses them, run it with the Nest CLI, or with tsc or SWC and emitDecoratorMetadata enabled.
First-party packages
| What you need | Package |
|---|
| Language models, tools as provider methods, agents, streaming to the browser | @nestjs/ai |
| MCP servers | @nestjs/mcp |
| Sign-in, sessions, tokens, two-factor, API keys | @nestjs/authentication |
| Permissions | @nestjs/authorization |
| Email | @nestjs/mail |
| Files, S3 included | @nestjs/storage |
| Translations | @nestjs/i18n |
| Databases | @nestjs/typeorm, @nestjs/drizzle, @nestjs/mongoose, @nestjs/sequelize |
| Retries, timeouts, circuit breakers | @nestjs/resilience |
| Idempotency keys | @nestjs/idempotency |
| Transactional outbox | @nestjs/outbox |
| Webhooks, sending and receiving | @nestjs/webhooks |
| Running a job on one instance, locks | @nestjs/locks |
| Processes that take days | @nestjs/workflows |
| Queues and scheduled jobs | @nestjs/bullmq, @nestjs/schedule |
| GraphQL, WebSockets, microservices | GraphQL, gateways, microservices |
| OpenAPI | @nestjs/swagger |
| Configuration, caching, rate limiting, health checks | @nestjs/config, @nestjs/cache-manager, @nestjs/throttler, @nestjs/terminus |
Moving to Nest
Using a coding agent
The whole documentation is available as markdown, with an index at docs.nestjs.com/llms.txt. Projects from nest new come with an AGENTS.md that lists the packages above, since most models were trained before they existed.
Philosophy
Getting started
Questions
For questions and support please use the official Discord channel. The issue list of this repo is exclusively for bug reports and feature requests.
Issues
Please make sure to read the Issue Reporting Checklist before opening an issue. Issues not conforming to the guidelines may be closed immediately.
Observability
NestJS Observe is the official observability platform for Nest applications. Install the @nestjs/observe SDK, pass an API key, and requests, background jobs, errors, logs, and distributed traces start streaming to a dashboard - no manual span wiring and no collector to run. Because the SDK hooks into Nest's own request lifecycle, a trace reads like a call graph of your controllers and providers instead of a bare HTTP route. Free for up to 300,000 events a month, and there is a live demo with no signup.
Consulting
With official support, you can get expert help straight from the Nest core team. We provide dedicated technical support, migration strategies, advice on best practices (and design decisions), PR reviews, and team augmentation. Read more about support here.
Support
Nest is an MIT-licensed open source project. It can grow thanks to the sponsors and support from the amazing backers. If you'd like to join them, please read more here.
Principal Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Sponsors
Backers
Stay in touch
License
Nest is MIT licensed.
