Comparison

Master vs Express

Express is a minimal, unopinionated HTTP layer — you assemble structure, an ORM, validation, and a frontend yourself. Master gives you all of it, integrated, while keeping the Node you know.

At a glance

Feature by feature

Feature	Master	Express
Philosophy	Batteries-included, convention-first	Minimal, assemble-your-own
Project structure	Generated & conventional	You design it
Built-in ORM	MasterRecord
Code generators
Migrations
Frontend included	Next.js
Routing	Declarative routes + resources	Imperative app.get/post
Validation & error contract	static schemas → 400 ValidationProblemDetails (RFC 7807)	Add a validator + error handler yourself
Auth & DI	JWT/cookie schemes, policies; addScoped/addSingleton, services on this.*	passport + your own wiring
Config, health, OpenAPI, tests	appsettings layering + user secrets, /health/live\|ready, /openapi.json + Swagger UI, createTestClient()	Assemble from separate packages
Security defaults	CSRF, rate-limit, HSTS, headers	Add middleware yourself
WebSockets	Built-in socket controllers	Add ws/socket.io yourself
Ecosystem	npm	npm (largest middleware set)

Show me the code

The same task, side by side

Master

// One route + a JSON action, ORM-backed, validated
router.route('/posts/:id(int)', 'posts#show', 'get');

export default class PostsController {
  constructor(requestObject) { this.requestObject = requestObject; }
  async show(obj) {
    const post = await this.db.Post.find(obj.params.id);   // this.db: scoped AppContext
    if (!post) return this.notFound('Post not found');
    this.ok({ data: post });
  }
}

Express

// Express: wire the router, parser, validation and a DB client by hand
import express from 'express';
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

app.get('/posts/:id', async (req, res) => {
  const id = Number(req.params.id);
  if (!Number.isInteger(id)) return res.status(404).end();
  const { rows } = await pool.query('SELECT * FROM posts WHERE id = $1', [id]); // your ORM/driver
  if (!rows[0]) return res.status(404).json({ title: 'Post not found' });
  res.json({ data: rows[0] });
});

The verdict

Which should you choose?

Choose Master if you want structure, an ORM, generators, and a frontend out of the box — without wiring them together.

Choose Express if you want the thinnest possible layer and prefer to hand-pick every dependency for a small service.

Try Master ← All comparisons