What happens when an uncaught exception occurs in Node.js?

Short answer: If an error (exception) is thrown but not caught, Node.js will: Print the error stack trace to the console.

Explain a bit more

Immediately terminate the process to avoid unpredictable behavior. Why? Because an uncaught exception might leave the app in an inconsistent state. Best practice: Use try/catch for synchronous code, and listen to 'uncaughtException' or 'unhandledRejection' events to log errors and gracefully shut down: process.on('uncaughtException', (err) => { console.error('Uncaught Exception:', err); process.exit(1); // Exit to avoid unstable state });

Real-world example (ShopNest)

A ShopNest BFF in Node.js aggregates catalog and price APIs for the React storefront.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.