DEV Community: Faruq Awe

Building a RESTful API with Node.js and Cat Facts 🚀

Faruq Awe — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 17:55:47 +0000

🎯 The Challenge

As part of my backend development stage at HNG, I recently built a simple RESTful API that combines personal profile information with dynamic cat facts. Here's my story of turning requirements into a fully deployed application.

📋 Task Requirements

The goal was straightforward but comprehensive:

Create a GET endpoint at /me
Return JSON with specific structure
Integrate with external Cat Facts API
Include dynamic UTC timestamp
Handle errors gracefully
Deploy to a cloud platform

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend: Node.js with Express
HTTP Client: Axios for external API calls
Deployment: Render.com
Environment Management: dotenv

🚀 The Implementation Journey

Step 1: Setting Up the Foundation

I started by creating a basic Express server with proper middleware:

Step 2: External API Integration

The most exciting part was integrating with the Cat Facts API:

Step 3: Building the Main Endpoint

The core GET /me endpoint brought everything together:

Challenges

Challenge 1: CORS Package Compatibility
Issue: Path-to-regexp errors with Node.js v22
Solution: Implemented manual CORS headers instead of using the cors package

Challenge 2: Deployment Platform Issues
Experience: Tried PXXL.app initially, encountered "no available server" errors
Solution: Successfully deployed on Render.com with their generous free tier

📊 The Final Result

API Response Structure

🔗 Project Links

Main API: https://profile-api-6tan.onrender.com/me
Health Check: https://profile-api-6tan.onrender.com/health
GitHub Repository: https://github.com/Ladii1/profile-api.git

📚 Resources That Helped

Building this API taught me that even simple projects involve complex considerations. From handling time zones to managing external API dependencies, every line of code serves a purpose.
P.S. Don't forget to test the live API and let me know what cat fact you get!

Uncovering UX Gaps

Faruq Awe — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 06:12:05 +0000

Introduction
Cars.ng, Nigeria’s premier online marketplace for buying and selling cars, promises a seamless experience for users. But does it deliver? To find out, I conducted exploratory testing of its core user journeys, uncovering critical bugs, usability flaws, and opportunities for improvement. Here’s what I discovered.

Methodology
I tested Cars.ng on Windows (Firefox v134.0.2) and mobile device (iOS- Firefox v135.0) to evaluate:

User Flows: Registration, search, car listings, and seller contact.
Performance: Page load times and responsiveness.
Cross-Device Compatibility: Desktop vs. mobile experiences.

Tools Used:

Firefox DevTools (for mobile emulation and debugging).
Lighthouse (for performance metrics).
Screen recording tools (for capturing visual proof).

Findings
I found different issues using the website, like a broken login/registration button, different server errors, and a lot of sellers posting with either missing images or descriptions, which in my opinion, is blocking the primary goal of the platform. I also ran lighthouse to quantify the platform's technical health which showed a strong baseline for accessibility but a little above average for the performance.

Recommendation

Fix High Severity Bugs Immediately - Debug the server errors and Facebook login integration.
Optimize Mobile Responsiveness - Use CSS media queries to prevent text overlap and alignment issues.
Improve Data Validation - Ensure image description mappings are accurate.
Add Error Handling - Replace generic status errors with user friendly messages like "Oops! Try again later".

Conclusion
While Cars.ng offers a robust platform for car enthusiasts, critical bugs hinder its potential. Addressing these issues would significantly improve user trust and satisfaction.

Explore Cars.ng yourself, and check out my full bug report here for details.

Devops Stage 0

Faruq Awe — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 16:57:34 +0000

As part of my DevOps learning journey, I was tasked with setting up an NGINX web server on a fresh Ubuntu instance hosted on AWS. The goal was to serve a custom HTML page with a welcome message and document the process. Here’s how I tackled it!

Approach
I chose AWS EC2 for this task because of its free tier offering and scalability. Here’s my step-by-step process:

Launched an Ubuntu Server:

Created an AWS account, navigated to EC2, and launched a t2.micro instance with Ubuntu 22.04.
Generated a .pem SSH key pair for secure access.
Ensured the security group allowed inbound HTTP traffic (port 80).

Updated NGINX:

Updated packages with sudo apt update and NGINX.
Started the service and enabled auto-start with systemctl.

Created the Custom Page:

Replaced the default HTML file at /var/www/html/index.html with my message:

Tested the Server:

Accessed http://54.210.153.16/ in my browser and saw my custom page!

Challenges & Solutions

Firewall Configuration:

Issue: Forgot to enable HTTP traffic in AWS security groups initially.
Fix: Edited the EC2 security group to allow inbound port 80.

Editing Files with Sudo:

Issue: Permission denied when i tried to edit /var/www/html/index.html.
Fix: Learned to use sudo tee to write files with root privileges.

Learning & Professional Growth
This experience aligns with my goal to become a DevOps Engineer, where tasks like server provisioning, automation, and CI/CD pipeline management are critical. As highlighted in the HNG DevOps Engineers page, these skills are essential for optimizing development workflows.

I also see how cloud platforms like AWS are central to modern DevOps. The AWS Solutions Architects role, for instance, requires deep familiarity with EC2 and networking skills.

Completing this task was good and easy. From staring at a terminal to hosting a live webpage, I’ve gained confidence in working with servers. While I still have much to learn, this project solidified my passion for DevOps.
To anyone starting out: Embrace the errors, they’re the best teachers!

References
HNG DevOps Engineers
AWS Solutions Architects