Backend Launcher

A CLI tool to scaffold a modern TypeScript backend in seconds. Choose between Express and NestJS, then optionally layer in authentication or file-upload support.

Features

• 🚀 Quick scaffolding for a full backend project
• 🔷 TypeScript support out of the box
• ⚡ Choose between Express and NestJS
• 🔐 Optional auth add-on with JWT, refresh tokens, and MongoDB integration (Express only)
• 📁 Optional file-upload add-on with Multer (Express only)
• 🧰 Pre-configured environment variables and common middleware

Installation

Use the package directly with npx (no install needed):

npx @rutvikmakvana/backend-launcher my-api

Or install it globally to use the bare backend-launcher command:

npm install -g @rutvikmakvana/backend-launcher
backend-launcher my-api

Usage

1. Scaffold the project

npx @rutvikmakvana/backend-launcher my-api

You'll be prompted to choose a framework:

• Express — TypeScript + Express, with an auth/file-upload add-on system (see below)
• NestJS — scaffolded via the official @nestjs/cli

Note: only the project name/target folder and framework are prompted at this step. Authentication and file-upload are not chosen here — they're added afterward with the add command (Express projects only, see below).

You can also target the current directory:

npx @rutvikmakvana/backend-launcher .

(the target directory must be empty)

2. Install dependencies and run

cd my-api
npm install
npm run start:dev

Adding auth or file-upload (Express projects only)

After scaffolding an Express project, cd into it and run:

npx @rutvikmakvana/backend-launcher add auth
npx @rutvikmakvana/backend-launcher add file-upload

(if you installed globally, you can drop the npx prefix: backend-launcher add auth)

These commands:

• add the relevant source files (models, controllers, services, middleware) into your existing src/ folder
• auto-wire them into src/app.ts, src/server.ts, and src/routes/index.ts
• update package.json with the required dependencies and .env.example with the required variables

Run npm install again afterward to pick up the new dependencies.

These add-ons are built specifically for the Express template's file layout and are not supported on NestJS projects.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.