Hono

Backend Frameworks

Ultrafast web framework for the Edges

weekly downloads16.3M

versionv4.11.10

licenseMIT

Edge-nativeZero dependenciesRuns on Cloudflare/Bun/Deno

Overview

Hono is a modern web framework designed for the multi-runtime era of JavaScript. Unlike traditional frameworks tied to specific platforms, Hono runs identically across Node.js, Cloudflare Workers, Deno, Bun, AWS Lambda, Fastly Compute, and other edge environments. It achieves this portability by building exclusively on Web Standard APIs (Request, Response, Headers) rather than runtime-specific primitives.

The framework prioritizes performance and minimal bundle size. Its RegExpRouter uses optimized pattern matching that avoids linear loops, and the hono/tiny preset weighs under 14kB with zero dependencies. This makes it particularly well-suited for edge computing where cold start times and memory footprint directly impact costs and user experience.

With over 16 million weekly downloads, Hono has gained traction among developers building serverless APIs, edge functions, and microservices. It provides a familiar middleware-based architecture similar to Express.js but modernized for cloud-native deployments. The framework includes built-in middleware for authentication (JWT, Bearer, Basic), CORS, compression, cookies, ETags, and logging, while maintaining excellent TypeScript support with full type inference across routes and handlers.

Hono appeals to teams migrating away from monolithic Node.js servers toward distributed edge architectures, as well as developers who want a single codebase that deploys to multiple platforms without modification. It's particularly popular in the Cloudflare Workers ecosystem but works equally well in traditional Node.js environments.

Quick Start

typescript

import { Hono } from 'hono';
import { jwt } from 'hono/jwt';
import { zValidator } from '@hono/zod-validator';
import { z } from 'zod';

const app = new Hono();

const userSchema = z.object({
  name: z.string().min(2),
  email: z.string().email(),
  age: z.number().int().positive()
});

app.get('/', (c) => {
  return c.json({ message: 'Hello Hono!' });
});

app.post('/users', zValidator('json', userSchema), (c) => {
  const user = c.req.valid('json');
  return c.json({ success: true, user }, 201);
});

app.use('/protected/*', jwt({ secret: 'your-secret-key' }));

app.get('/protected/profile', (c) => {
  const payload = c.get('jwtPayload');
  return c.json({ userId: payload.sub, message: 'Protected data' });
});

app.onError((err, c) => {
  console.error(err);
  return c.json({ error: err.message }, 500);
});

export default app;

Use Cases

Building edge-first REST APIs: Deploy JSON APIs to Cloudflare Workers or other edge runtimes with automatic global distribution. Hono's small bundle size and fast routing make it ideal for high-volume API gateways where milliseconds matter.

Multi-cloud serverless functions: Write backend logic once and deploy to AWS Lambda, Vercel Edge Functions, Netlify Functions, or Deno Deploy without code changes. Useful for organizations avoiding vendor lock-in or testing performance across platforms.

API proxies and middleware layers: Create lightweight proxy servers that add authentication, rate limiting, or request transformation before forwarding to backend services. Hono's middleware system makes it easy to compose request/response pipelines.

Server-side rendered applications: Use Hono's JSX support to build server-rendered frontends without React hydration overhead. Combine with htmx or similar libraries for interactive UIs with minimal JavaScript.

Microservices in containerized environments: Deploy to Docker or Kubernetes using Node.js or Bun runtimes. Hono's minimal dependencies reduce image size and attack surface compared to heavier frameworks.

Pros & Cons

Pros

+True runtime portability: the same codebase runs unmodified on 10+ JavaScript runtimes including edge, serverless, and traditional servers
+Extremely small bundle size (under 14kB for hono/tiny) with fast routing optimized for high-throughput scenarios
+Excellent TypeScript support with full type inference for route parameters, middleware context, and response types
+Comprehensive built-in middleware covering authentication, validation (Zod integration), CORS, compression, and more
+Active development and strong community adoption with extensive documentation and examples

Cons

−Smaller ecosystem compared to Express.js: fewer third-party middleware packages and community plugins available
−No built-in ORM or database layer: you'll need separate libraries for data persistence, though this keeps the framework lean
−Breaking changes possible as the project evolves: the framework is pre-1.0 despite popularity, so API stability isn't guaranteed
−Limited frontend rendering capabilities: while JSX is supported, it's server-only with no client-side hydration or routing
−Documentation sometimes assumes familiarity with Web Standards: developers coming from Express may need to learn Request/Response APIs

Comparisons

hono vs expressbackend →fastify vs honobackend →elysia vs honobackend →

Install

bash

npm install hono

bash

pnpm add hono

bash

bun add hono

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