Why does not cleaning up resources hurt Node.js performance?
Forgotten event listeners, open file handles, and database connections cause memory leaks and resource exhaustion. These degrade performance over time as resources accumulate, eventually slowing the event loop and causing crashes.
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More FAQs in Common Event Loop Mistakes That Cause Node.js Performance Issues
Blocking the event loop with heavy synchronous code. This stops all requests while the sync code runs. Always use async APIs in request handlers and offload CPU-heavy work to worker threads.
Because sync APIs like fs.readFileSync block the event loop for the duration of the operation. While the sync code runs, no other request can be processed. Always use async APIs like fs.readFile in request handlers.
Because recursive nextTick calls run before I/O, starving the event loop. The poll phase never runs, and all connections stall. Use setImmediate instead for most deferred work, since it runs after I/O.
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