BackTool

A CLI tool to generate backend structures for Node.js applications with support for multiple databases and a visually appealing user interface.

Overview

BackTool simplifies the process of setting up a Node.js backend by generating a complete project structure, including a server entry point, models, database configuration, controllers, routes, middleware, and a customized package.json. It supports MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite, allowing developers to quickly scaffold a backend tailored to their preferred database.

Features

• Database Support: Generates configurations and models for MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite.
• Language Support: Generates projects in both JavaScript and TypeScript with proper configurations.
• Interactive Prompts: Uses inquirer for styled, user-friendly prompts with custom prefixes and validation.
• Visual Feedback: Includes an ASCII art banner (figlet), colored output (chalk), and progress spinners (ora).
• Non-Interactive Mode: Supports command-line arguments for automation (e.g., backtool --project my-app --database MongoDB).
• Complete Backend Structure: Creates server.js, package.json, and directories for models, config, controllers, routes, and middleware.
• Customized package.json: Generates a package.json with the project name, scripts (start, dev), and dependencies.
• Automatic Package Installation: Installs required dependencies (e.g., express, mongoose, pg, mysql2, sqlite3) and nodemon as a dev dependency.
• Git Initialization: Automatically initializes a Git repository in the generated project with proper .gitignore setup.
• Environment Configuration: Includes .env.example template that gets copied to .env for easy environment setup.
• File Overwrite Protection: Prompts users before overwriting existing files (e.g., server.js, package.json, model files).
• Extensible: Easily add new databases or structure components by updating the template folder.

Installation

Install BackTool globally to use it from any directory:

npm install -g backtool

Alternatively, clone the repository and link it locally:

git clone https://github.com/Amanbig/backtool.git
cd backtool
npm install
npm link

Usage

Interactive Mode

Run BackTool without arguments to use interactive prompts:

backtool

or directly using:

npx backtool@latest

This will display an ASCII banner and prompt for:

• Project name (e.g., my-app)
• Database choice (MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite)

Non-Interactive Mode

Specify options directly to skip prompts:

backtool --project my-app --database MongoDB

Options

• -p, --project <name>: Specify the project name (default: my-app).
• -d, --database <type>: Specify the database (MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite).
• -l, --language <type>: Specify the language (JavaScript, TypeScript).
• -f, --force: Force overwrite of existing files without prompting.
• -u, --uri <uri>: Specify database connection URI.
• -v, --version: Display the version number.
• -h, --help: Show help information.

Generated Structure

Running BackTool creates one of the following directory structures based on the chosen language:

JavaScript Structure

my-app/
├── server.js
├── package.json
├── .env
├── .gitignore
├── config/
│   └── database.js
├── models/
│   └── user.<database>.js
├── controllers/
│   └── authController.js
├── routes/
│   └── auth.js
├── middleware/
│   └── auth.js
├── node_modules/
└── .git/

TypeScript Structure

my-app/
├── server.ts
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── .env
├── .gitignore
├── src/
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── database.ts
│   ├── models/
│   │   └── user.<database>.ts
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   └── authController.ts
│   ├── routes/
│   │   └── auth.ts
│   ├── middleware/
│   │   └── auth.ts
│   └── types/
│       └── express.d.ts
├── dist/           # Compiled JavaScript
├── node_modules/
└── .git/

• server.[js|ts]: Entry point for the Node.js application, setting up the Express server and routes.
• package.json: Includes project configuration, scripts, and dependencies. For TypeScript projects, includes additional scripts for building and type checking.
• tsconfig.json: (TypeScript only) TypeScript compiler configuration.
• config/database.[js|ts]: Database connection and table initialization.
• models/: Database models with database-specific implementations.
• controllers/: Request handling logic including authentication.
• routes/: API route definitions.
• middleware/: Custom middleware (e.g., authentication).
• types/: (TypeScript only) Type definitions and declarations.
• dist/: (TypeScript only) Compiled JavaScript output.

The users table/model includes fields: id, username, email, password, and created_at.

Running the Application

After generating the project, navigate to the project directory and run:

# For JavaScript projects
npm start

# For TypeScript projects
npm start        # Runs with ts-node
npm run build    # Compiles TypeScript to JavaScript
npm run start:prod  # Runs the compiled JavaScript

For development with auto-restart on file changes:

npm run dev     # Works for both JavaScript and TypeScript

Supported Databases

• MongoDB: Uses mongoose for schema-based modeling.
• PostgreSQL: Uses pg with a connection pool and SQL queries.
• MySQL: Uses mysql2 with a promise-based connection pool.
• SQLite: Uses sqlite3 and sqlite for lightweight, file-based storage.

Dependencies

BackTool installs the following dependencies in the generated project:

Common Dependencies

• Core Dependencies: express, dotenv, cors, jsonwebtoken
• Database-specific Dependencies:
  • MongoDB: mongoose, bcryptjs
  • PostgreSQL: pg, bcryptjs
  • MySQL: mysql2, bcryptjs
  • SQLite: sqlite3, bcryptjs

Development Dependencies

• Common: nodemon
• TypeScript-specific (when TypeScript is selected):
  • typescript
  • ts-node
  • @types/node
  • @types/express
  • @types/cors
  • @types/jsonwebtoken
  • @types/bcryptjs
  • Database-specific types (e.g., @types/mongoose, @types/pg)

Development

To contribute or modify BackTool:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Amanbig/backtool.git

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Update the backtool_folder directory with custom templates (e.g., server.js, models).
4. Test locally:

   npm link
   backtool --project test-app --database SQLite

License

MIT License

Contact

For issues or feature requests, open a ticket on the GitHub repository.