How Express turns Node.js from "I can build a server" to "I can build a server in 5 minutes." In the last article, we built an HTTP server with raw Node.js. It worked. But let me be honest — it was painful. Manually parsing URLs, setting headers, checking req.url with if-else chains, handling different HTTP methods... for a simple 3-page site, it was already getting messy. Now imagine building an API with 20 routes, request body parsing, error handling, and middleware. With raw Node.js? That's weeks of boilerplate code. This is why Express.js exists. It takes everything tedious about raw Node.js HTTP handling and gives you a clean, minimal API to do the same thing in a fraction of the code. Express is to Node.js what a power drill is to a screwdriver — same job, dramatically faster. Let me show you how it works. This was one of those "why didn't I learn this sooner" moments in the ChaiCode Web Dev Cohort 2026. What Is Express.js? Express.js is a lightweight web framework for Node.js.…