The latest articles on DEV Community by Joshua Enikele (@joshteflon). https://dev.to/joshteflon 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%2F773533%2F35f94811-68dc-441c-be11-860417c01c61.png https://dev.to/joshteflon en Joshua Enikele Fri, 17 Oct 2025 20:44:31 +0000 https://dev.to/joshteflon/hitting-the-ground-running-with-hng-backend-stage-0-2a0m https://dev.to/joshteflon/hitting-the-ground-running-with-hng-backend-stage-0-2a0m <p>I've been focused on mastering <strong>Node.js</strong> and <strong>Express</strong>, and I finally got the chance to put theory into practice with HNG's backend Internship.</p> <p>My first task? <strong>Backend Wizards Stage 0: Build a Dynamic Profile Endpoint.</strong></p> <p>The goal was to create a single <strong>GET /me</strong> endpoint that nailed three things perfectly:</p> <ol> <li> Serves my profile details (name, stack).</li> <li> Generates a dynamic, current <strong>ISO 8601 UTC timestamp</strong>.</li> <li> Fetches a random <strong>Cat Fact</strong> from an external API, with robust error handling (5-second timeout and fallback!).</li> </ol> <p>This task was a great lesson in translating <strong>type-safe code</strong> into a robust, deployed API.</p> <p>You can find the full Node.js/Express/TypeScript implementation and the complete setup instructions on my GitHub repository here: <a href="https://github.com/JoshTeflon/HNG-BE-Stage-0" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/JoshTeflon/HNG-BE-Stage-0</a></p> <p>#HNG13 #BackendDevelopment #TypeScript #Nodejs #Express #API</p> node typescript api backend