FAQ

Last updated 2026-10-07

Does Rhea.js replace Express? No. It runs on Express 5 and exposes it as app.express.

Is it production-ready? No. It is alpha. It has no independent security review and no production track record.

Why not NestJS, Fastify or Hono? They are good choices. Rhea.js targets teams that want Express compatibility plus a fixed project layout and security defaults, without decorators or dependency injection. We have not benchmarked against them and make no speed claims.

Does it include auth? No. Authentication is planned as an optional plugin.

Which databases are supported? Core is database-agnostic and has no adapters yet. See Databases.

Can I use JavaScript instead of TypeScript? The generators and templates target TypeScript. The core package ships types but works from JavaScript.

Why is rhea not the npm package name? The name rhea on npm is an unrelated existing package. Rhea.js publishes under different names (@rheajs/*, create-rhea). Check the repository for the final names.

Who makes it? Shams Ali Shaikh.