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With the growing use of mobile and desktop apps, there is an increasing demand for more developers who can create apps that are able to fulfill the requirements of users. Now, the demand for developers who possess skills in front-end as well as back-end is increasing at a fast pace. MEAN has become one of the popular full-stack development careers that most full-stack developers choose. Moreover, this robust framework is built for creating dynamic web apps. With web development moving at lightning speed, the right tools have to be leveraged in order to increase developer productivity, automate workflows, and ensure high code quality. Hence, in this blog, we are going to discuss the most used MEAN stack development tools that enable full-stack developers to write efficient and clean code quickly without any compromise on code quality.

But before diving into MEAN stack development tools, we will understand what the MEAN stack actually is.  

What is MEAN Stack?

The MEAN stack is a freely available JavaScript technology that plays a key role in creating dynamic and scalable web applications in a very short time. When developers develop a website or application through this technology, they may work on a number of languages, frameworks, and tools. However, this technology is made up of four technologies, which are MongoDB, Express.js, Angular, and Node.js. 

What is MongoDB?

This is one of the widely used NoSQL databases that stores info in JSON-like format rather than tables. MongoDB offers high performance, scalability, and easy development, making it one of the most popular choices among full-stack developers. Additionally, this is the ideal database choice for handling large amounts of data with dynamic structures.   

Key Takeaways

Document-Oriented: makes use of flexible, BSON instead of tables and rows.

High Performance: Optimized for fast read/write operations and real-time data handling.

Easily Scalable: Supports horizontal scaling.

Developer-Friendly: Works efficiently with JavaScript and tools.

Great for Web Apps: Ideal for apps with evolving data structures.

What is Express.js?

Express.js is a versatile Node.js framework used to build apps for web and mobiles. Another key point is it simplifies the process of handling HTTP requests, routing, middleware, and server-side logic, making it a core component of the MEAN stack.

Key Takeaways:

Minimal & Fast: Being a lightweight framework, it adds powerful features to Node.js.

Routing: Simplifies the URL routing process and handles different HTTP methods.

Middleware Support: Easily integrates middleware functions.

API Development: Commonly used to build RESTful APIs.

What is AngularJS? 

AngularJS is a powerful open-source JavaScript framework maintained by Google. Its primary purpose is to implement the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture in browser-based applications, simplifying both development and testing workflows.

Key takeaways:

MVC Architecture: Uses the Model-View-Controller pattern to organize and manage code more efficiently.

Simplified Development: Streamlines both development and testing processes using built-in architecture.

Custom Web Apps: Helps create intelligent, personalized web applications compatible with various systems.

HTML Template Language: Extends HTML’s syntax to define custom components and application logic.

Core Features: Includes dependency injection and data binding to reduce repetitive code and enhance modularity.

What is NodeJS?

Node.js is a server-side JavaScript runtime environment that enables developers to build fast and scalable web applications outside the browser. Furthermore, as it is built on Chrome’s V8 engine, it executes JavaScript code efficiently and is widely used for creating real-time applications, APIs, and backend services.

Key Takeaways:

Server-Side JavaScript: Enables JavaScript to be executed on the server.

Browser-Free Environment: Operates outside the browser, which makes it suitable for backend development.

Strong Ecosystem: Provides a large set of modules and tools.

Popular MEAN Stack Development Tools

Here are a few examples of the best MEAN stack development tools popular among full stack development tools: 

1. Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

VS Code is one of the best IDE for mean stack development. However, being a powerful, lightweight code editor developed by Microsoft, it has made its place among most full-stack developers. 

Key Details:

Built-in Git integration

Rich extension marketplace (Angular, Node.js, MongoDB tools)

Debugger support for Node.js

IntelliSense for smart code completions

Role in MEAN:

Used for coding Angular (frontend), Express & Node.js (backend), and even managing MongoDB scripts.

2. Angular CLI

Another popular mean stack development tools used as a command-line interface tool to develop and maintain Angular applications with ease.

Key Details:

Generates components, services, and modules

Provides a development server with live reload

Handles build optimization and environment configs

Supports testing with Karma and Protractor

Role in MEAN:

Developers use Essential to efficiently develop and maintain the Angular frontend in MEAN stack apps.

3. Postman

Postman is an API development and testing tool that is considered the best tools for full stack development, which lets developers send HTTP requests to RESTful APIs.

Key Details:

Send GET, POST, PUT, and  DELETE requests

Supports headers, tokens, and JSON bodies

Automated test scripts with JavaScript

Collection runners and environment variables

Role in MEAN:

Used to test Express.js backend routes and ensure API endpoints are working correctly.

4. Nodemon

Nodeman automatically restarts the Node.js server when file changes are detected.

Key Details:

Watches for file changes in the Node app

Helps speed up development by avoiding manual restarts

Simple CLI usage (nodemon app.js)

Can be configured for custom file extensions

Role in MEAN:

Speeds up backend development with Express.js and Node.js by providing automatic server reloads.

5. Mongoose

Mongoose is one of the Mean stack tools known as an ODM (Object Data Modeling) library for MongoDB and Node.js.

Key Details:

Defines schemas and models for MongoDB documents

Built-in validation, middleware, and query helpers

Works well with Express.js

Makes MongoDB work like a relational database

Role in MEAN:

Helps structure and interact with MongoDB.

6. MongoDB Compass

Developers consider MongoDB Compass one of the best tools for full stack development, helping them create a GUI to visualize, manage, and query MongoDB databases

Key Details:

Intuitive interface for viewing collections and documents

Real-time performance statistics

Aggregation pipeline builder

Schema exploration features

Role in MEAN:

Used for inspecting and managing the data stored in MongoDB during development.

7. PM2

Production-grade process manager for Node.js applications.

Key Details:

Keeps applications alive forever

Supports log management and monitoring

Cluster mode for better performance

Works well with Docker and CI/CD pipelines

Role in MEAN:

Used to manage and deploy the Express + Node backend reliably in production.

8. Jasmine + Karma

Another best tools for full stack development, this tool is used for test Angular applications.

Key Details:

Jasmine: Behavior-driven JavaScript testing framework

Karma: Runs tests in original browsers

Supports code coverage reporting

Role in MEAN:

Used to write and run frontend unit tests for Angular components and services.