Building a real-time app with Express? Let us review it.
Expert code review for real-time apps built with Express. We fix Express-specific security gaps, optimize performance, and handle deployment. From $19.
Common Express issues we find
Real problems from Express codebases we've reviewed.
No helmet middleware for security headers
Express apps without the helmet middleware are missing critical security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and HSTS, leaving the app vulnerable to common web attacks.
Missing input validation and sanitization
Request body, query params, and URL params used directly without validation. No express-validator, zod, or joi — enabling injection attacks and unexpected crashes.
Unstructured error handling
No global error-handling middleware. Errors either crash the process, leak stack traces to clients, or get silently swallowed with no logging.
CORS set to allow all origins
The cors() middleware called with no options, defaulting to allowing requests from any website — a security risk for APIs that handle user data.
Real-time App challenges to solve
Key real-time app concerns that AI-generated code often misses.
Connection management and reconnection
WebSocket connections drop constantly — network switches, phone sleep, server deploys. AI tools open a connection but don't handle disconnection, reconnection, or missed messages during downtime. Users see stale data or lose messages without knowing it.
Message ordering and delivery guarantees
Messages must arrive in order and must not be lost. Network issues can deliver messages out of sequence or duplicate them. AI-generated real-time code has no message ordering, no deduplication, and no delivery confirmation — which means lost messages and confused users.
Conflict resolution in collaborative editing
When two users edit the same content simultaneously, whose changes win? AI tools implement 'last write wins,' which silently discards one user's work. Production collaboration needs operational transforms or CRDTs to merge concurrent edits correctly.
Scaling concurrent connections
Each WebSocket connection holds server resources. A single server can handle hundreds of connections, but thousands require load balancing with sticky sessions, a pub/sub layer (like Redis), and horizontal scaling. AI tools don't implement any of this.
What we check
Key areas we review for Express real-time app projects.
Connection lifecycle — reconnection logic, heartbeat, graceful degradation
Message delivery — ordering guarantees, deduplication, acknowledgments
Authentication — WebSocket connections verified, channel-level authorization
Scaling — connection pooling, pub/sub architecture, horizontal scaling readiness
Not sure if your app passes? Our code audit ($19) checks all of these and more.
Start with a self-serve audit
Get a professional review of your Express real-time app project at a fixed price.
External Security Scan
Black-box review of your public-facing app. No code access needed.
- OWASP Top 10 vulnerability check
- SSL/TLS configuration analysis
- Security header assessment
- Expert review within 24h
Code Audit
In-depth review of your source code for security, quality, and best practices.
- Security vulnerability analysis
- Code quality review
- Dependency audit
- Architecture review
- Expert + AI code analysis
Complete Bundle
Both scans in one package with cross-referenced findings.
- Everything in both products
- Cross-referenced findings
- Unified action plan
100% credited toward any paid service. Start with an audit, then let us fix what we find.
How it works
Tell us about your app
Share your project details and what you need help with.
Expert + AI audit
A human expert assisted by AI reviews your code within 24 hours.
Launch with confidence
We fix what needs fixing and stick around to help.
Frequently asked questions
Can you review a real-time app built with Express?
Yes. We regularly audit Express real-time app projects and understand the specific patterns and pitfalls of this combination. Our review covers security, performance, and deployment readiness.
What issues do you find in Express real-time apps?
Common issues include no helmet middleware for security headers and missing input validation and sanitization on the Express side, combined with real-time app-specific concerns like connection management and reconnection and message ordering and delivery guarantees. We check for all of these and more.
How do I make my Express real-time app production-ready?
Start with our code audit ($19) to get a prioritized list of issues. For Express real-time app projects, the typical path is: fix security gaps, address real-time app-specific requirements, optimize Express performance, then configure deployment. We provide a fixed quote after the audit.
How long does it take to audit a Express real-time app?
Our code audit delivers a full report within 24 hours. For Express real-time app projects, we check security, architecture, performance, and deployment readiness across all Express-specific patterns. Fixes are scoped separately with a fixed quote.
Related resources
Express by Use Case
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