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

The server was running fine, then it just stopped, and the only clue in the logs is a stack trace nobody wrote.

IntermediateRead 5 minDoing: about 30 minutes6 steps

▶ Start

What you'll have at the end

A process-level handler that logs the error and shuts down on purpose instead of crashing blind

Before you start

You need

A Node script or service already running, whether a background job loop, a queue worker, or a small server, with at least one place that calls an async function without an await or its own catch.

Not covered

Closing a listening server or draining in-flight requests before the process exits, which is its own separate problem once a real server is involved instead of a job loop.

Leans on

6 steps

Where to go next

Shut a server down cleanly on a stop signal

once you also need to stop taking new connections and let in-flight ones finish before the process exits.

Checked 25 Aug 2026

Part of the Node.js cookbook