Shut a server down cleanly on a stop signal

Every time you redeploy, a handful of requests get cut off mid-response.

Intermediate to advancedRead 5 minDoing: about an hour6 steps

What you'll have at the end

A server that stops taking new requests, finishes real work already in flight, and only force-closes anything still stuck once a bounded deadline passes

Before you start

You need

A Node script that already answers HTTP requests with the core server object, running somewhere that stops it by sending a signal on redeploy rather than yanking the power: a hosting platform, a process manager, or your own terminal.

Not covered

Closing a database connection pool or telling a load balancer to stop sending traffic before the drain begins, both of which need pieces this reader has not built yet.

Leans on

6 steps

Where to go next

Why does your Node process die silently on a rejected promise?

when the process is crashing on its own from an unhandled error, not being asked to stop by an outside signal.

Checked 25 Aug 2026

Part of the Node.js cookbook