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What does the URL/URLSearchParams API provide, and why is it generally preferred over the older querystring module today?

Beginner

Answer

URL and URLSearchParams (globally available, matching the browser API) provide a complete, spec-compliant way to parse a URL and manipulate query strings, handling edge cases like encoding more consistently than the legacy querystring module.
const url = new URL('https://example.com/search?q=nodejs');
console.log(url.searchParams.get('q'));
const params = new URLSearchParams();
params.append('name', 'Alice');
Real-world example An HTTP client builds request query strings using URLSearchParams rather than manual concatenation, automatically getting correct percent-encoding of special characters.

Common follow-ups: In what situations does the legacy querystring module still get used in modern codebases?;How does URLSearchParams handle a parameter appearing multiple times with the same key?

HTTP & HTTPS Modules;RESTful API Design with Express
All 15 Core Node.js Modules questions