Errors are inevitable. How you handle them determines whether your application gracefully recovers or crashes unexpectedly. Here are patterns for robust error handling.
The Problem with Silent Failures
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Custom Error Classes
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Result Pattern (No Exceptions)
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Express Error Handling
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React Error Boundaries
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Retry Pattern
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Centralized Error Logging
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Best Practices
DO:
✓ Use specific error types
✓ Include context in error messages
✓ Log errors with stack traces
✓ Fail fast on programmer errors
✓ Recover gracefully from operational errors
✓ Use error boundaries in React
✓ Validate input at boundaries
DON'T:
✗ Catch and ignore errors
✗ Throw generic Error objects
✗ Expose internal errors to users
✗ Retry without backoff
✗ Log sensitive data in errors
✗ Use exceptions for control flow
Conclusion
Good error handling is invisible when things go right and invaluable when they go wrong. Design your error handling strategy early, use typed errors, and always log enough context to debug issues in production.
Errors should tell a story—make sure yours are readable.