The latest articles on DEV Community by Adekunle Ademola (@adekunle_ademola_353b1721). https://dev.to/adekunle_ademola_353b1721 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F2946364%2F6f2292e5-cd74-4538-9200-013ddd33dccd.png https://dev.to/adekunle_ademola_353b1721 en Adekunle Ademola Thu, 16 Oct 2025 08:06:00 +0000 https://dev.to/adekunle_ademola_353b1721/hng13-stage-0-backend-track-49lf https://dev.to/adekunle_ademola_353b1721/hng13-stage-0-backend-track-49lf <p>Hey everyone 👋</p> <p>I just completed <strong>Stage 0 of the HNG13 Internship (Backend track)</strong>, and it’s been an awesome start already!</p> <p>For our first task, we were asked to build a Dynamic Profile Endpoint API that returns our personal information along with a random cat fact fetched from an external API. 🐱</p> <h2> 💡 What the task was about </h2> <p>The goal was to:</p> <ul> <li>Build a simple backend API with Node.js and Express</li> <li>Fetch data from a third-party API (Cat Fact API)</li> <li>Return both static and dynamic JSON data</li> <li>Implement rate limiting for better security and performance</li> <li>Handle errors properly and follow clean API design principles</li> <li>This project tested our understanding of APIs, JSON, error handling, and rate limiting; all essential backend skills.</li> </ul> <h2> 🧰 Tech Stack </h2> <ul> <li>Backend: Node.js / Express</li> <li>Rate Limiter: express-rate-limit</li> <li>External API: Cat Fact API</li> </ul> <h2> ⚙️ Setup Guide </h2> <p>To run the project locally:</p> <h3> Clone the repository </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>git clone https://github.com/Jamal-09/hng_stage_0.git </code></pre> </div> <h3> Navigate into the folder </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>cd hng_stage_0 </code></pre> </div> <h3> Install dependencies </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>npm install </code></pre> </div> <h3> Declare environment variables </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>PORT=3000 </code></pre> </div> <h3> Start the development server </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>node server.js </code></pre> </div> <h2> 🔗 Endpoints </h2> <p><code>GET /</code></p> <p>Returns a welcome message.<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>{ "status": "success", "message": "Welcome to my dynamic profile API" } </code></pre> </div> <p><code>GET /me</code></p> <p>Returns my profile information, timestamp, and a random cat fact.<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>{ "status": "success", "user": { "email": "napg.adekunle@gmail.com", "name": "Jamal Ademola", "stack": "Node.js/Express" }, "timestamp": "2025-10-15T19:35:01.868Z", "fact": "A group of cats is called a “clowder.”" } </code></pre> </div> <h2> 🌐 Live Demo </h2> <ul> <li>🔗 <a href="https://hngstage0-production-aea4.up.railway.app/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://hngstage0-production-aea4.up.railway.app/</a> </li> </ul> <h2> 🧭 Lessons Learned </h2> <ul> <li>Working with third-party APIs in Express</li> <li>Parsing and returning dynamic JSON responses</li> <li>Implementing rate limiting using middleware</li> <li>Handling errors and API reliability properly</li> </ul> <h2> 📬 Contact </h2> <ul> <li>📧 Email: <a href="mailto:napg.adekunle@gmail.com">napg.adekunle@gmail.com</a> </li> <li>💬 Slack: Jamal-09</li> </ul> <p>Built with 💻 &amp; ❤️ by Jamal Ademola</p> <p>✅ Stage 0 complete!<br> Excited for the next challenge at #HNG13 🚀</p> hng backend api node