Configure-express-app NPM

Express App Generator

Welcome to the Express App Generator! This tool helps you quickly set up an Express application with pre-configured middleware and optional database connections.

npx configure-express-app@latest

Features

Auto-detect Node.js version: Automatically adjusts settings based on the installed Node.js version.
Example:
- In node version 20 don't need this env import, Node js supports .env default. Automatically added (Node.js <= 18)
```
require('dotenv').config();
```
- Auto detect node.js version and automatically added (Node.js >= 20)
```
node --env-file=.env server.js
```
Pre-configured Environment Setup:
- Includes a .env file for environment variables.
Pre-installed Modules and Middleware:
- Express: Web framework for Node.js.
- Rate Limiter: Middleware to limit repeated requests to public APIs and/or endpoints.
- Nodemon: Automatically restarts the server for development.
- Winston: Logging library for application logs.
- UUID: Generates unique request IDs.
- Compression: Gzip compression for improved performance.
- Helmet: Security middleware for HTTP headers.
- CORS: Middleware to enable Cross-Origin Resource Sharing.
- Body-Parser: Middleware to parse incoming request bodies.
- Error Handling: Standardized error responses.
- HPP: Prevent HTTP Parameter Pollution.
- Request Logging: Logs request body, params, query, and headers.
- Prettier: Code formatter for consistent code style.
- .gitignore: Pre-configured to exclude sensitive files and directories.
- Swagger: API documentation and testing tool.
Database Configuration:
- Choose from PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or None during setup.
- Sample database connection is created in the database directory.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following software installed on your system:

Node.js (version 14 or later recommended)
npm

Installation

To create a new Express app, follow these steps:

Run the Generator:
```
npx configure-express-app@latest
```
Navigate to Your Project Directory:
```
cd your-project-name
```
Pre Installed Dependencies Automatically
Configure Environment Variables:
Create a .env file in the root of your project and set your environment variables. A sample .env.example file is provided.
```
cp .env.example .env
```
Edit the .env file as needed.
Run the Application In Production:
```
npm start
```
Development Mode:
For development mode with live-reloading:
```
npm run dev
```

Project Structure

Your Express app will have the following structure:

Usage

Adding Routes: Define your routes in the routes directory. Create new files for different route groups and import them in routes/index.js.
Creating Controllers: Implement your business logic in controllers, located in the controllers directory.
Using Middleware: Add custom middleware in the middlewares directory.
Database Models: Define your database models in the models directory. Ensure your database connection is configured in database/db.js.
Environment Variables: Manage configuration settings through the .env file.

Scripts

The following scripts are available:

npm start: Start the application.
npm run dev: Start the application in development mode with Nodemon.
npm run prettify: prettify your code using Prettier.

Security

Helmet: Protects against known vulnerabilities by setting HTTP headers appropriately.
HPP: Prevents HTTP Parameter Pollution.
Express-Mongo-Sanitize: Prevents NoSQL injection attacks.

API Documentation with Swagger

Swagger is used for API documentation and testing. You can access the Swagger UI at the following URL:

http://localhost:8080/api-docs

Replace 8080 with the port your application is running on.

Adding New API Endpoints to Swagger

To add new API endpoints to the Swagger documentation, follow these steps:

Create a New Module:
- Create a new folder in the /APIDocs/docs directory.
- Add your endpoint definitions in this new folder.
Update Swagger Configuration:
- Ensure your new module is included in the Swagger configuration file.

By accessing the Swagger UI, you can view and test all available API endpoints in your application.