Node.js Graceful Shutdown: The Right Way (SIGTERM, Connection Draining, and Kubernetes)

Node.js Graceful Shutdown: The Right Way (SIGTERM, Connection Draining, and Kubernetes) Most Node.js services I have audited handle shutdown in one of two ways: they ignore SIGTERM entirely (Docker and Kubernetes send SIGKILL 30 seconds later, dropping all in-flight requests), or they call process.exit(0) immediately (same result — requests dropped, database connections severed, state corrupted). Graceful shutdown is one of those things that seems simple but has real depth. Done right, it means zero dropped requests during deploys, zero corrupted transactions, and predictable behavior in orchestrated environments. This guide covers everything you need to implement it correctly. Why Graceful Shutdown Matters When Kubernetes rolls out a new deployment or Docker stops a container, the sequence is: Container receives SIGTERM Kubernetes waits terminationGracePeriodSeconds (default: 30s) If still running: container receives SIGKILL (force kill, no cleanup) If your app ignores SIGTERM or exit