Lesson 1 / 32
What is Fastify?
Learn what Fastify is, why it is fast and low-overhead, and where it fits compared with Express.
Built for performance
Fastify is a web framework for Node.js that prioritizes speed and efficiency. It's built on top of the http module but adds powerful routing, validation, and serialization with minimal overhead.
Express vs Fastify
Express is like a general-purpose toolbox; Fastify is like a finely-tuned race car engine. Both do the job, but Fastify is optimized for throughput and latency from the ground up.
Where Fastify shines
High-traffic APIs, microservices, real-time applications, and serverless functions. Fastify's request/reply object pooling and schema validation built-in make it ideal for performance-critical workloads.