What is the difference between spawn() and exec()?

Short answer: Both create child processes, but: spawn() streams data (good for large outputs) exec() buffers data (good for small outputs) const { spawn, exec } = require('child_process'); // spawn example const ls = spawn('ls', ['-lh', '/usr']);

Example code

ls.stdout.on('data', (data) => console.log(`Output: ${data}`)); // exec example exec('ls -lh /usr', (error, stdout) => console.log(stdout));

Real-world example (ShopNest)

A ShopNest BFF in Node.js aggregates catalog and price APIs for the React storefront.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.