Questions
3 of 3
1How do you write a global filter in NestJS that handles both HttpException and unexpected errors differently?
2What is an exception filter in NestJS and when does it run?
3How does exception filter precedence work when multiple filters are registered in NestJS?
NestJSNestJS
Basics
Modules
Decorators
Controllers
Dependency Injection
Providers
Architecture
Request Lifecycle
Middleware
Guards
Interceptors
Pipes
Filters
Exception Handling
API Design
GraphQL
Database and ORM
Microservices
Authentication and Authorization
03 / 03

How does exception filter precedence work when multiple filters are registered in NestJS?

Unlike guards and interceptors (global → controller → method), exception filter resolution works in reverse: method → controller → global. The most specific filter wins. The @Catch() type must match the thrown exception for a filter to apply — a filter for NotFoundException will not handle BadRequestException.

Filter precedence with multiple registered filters
Filter resolution rules:
  1. 1

    Method-level filters are checked first, then controller-level, then global.

  2. 2

    The first filter whose @Catch() type matches the thrown exception handles it.

  3. 3

    @Catch(NotFoundException) will NOT handle BadRequestException — the types must match.

  4. 4

    @Catch() with no argument matches everything — use only at the global level.

  5. 5

    Multiple @Catch() types are supported: @Catch(NotFoundException, BadRequestException).