Act as a senior backend developer with 5+ years of experience in Node.js and RESTful API design. Provide a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to build a scalable REST API using Node.js, [EXPRESS/NESTJS], and [MONGODB/POSTGRESQL]. Include best practices for error handling, authentication (using [JWT/OAUTH]), and API documentation (Swagger/OpenAPI). Break down each step clearly, from project setup to deployment, and explain the purpose of key dependencies like middleware, routers, and controllers. Highlight performance optimization tips and security considerations.