Aspen CLI

A modern command-line tool for creating backend projects with customizable options and robust framework support.

Features

• 🚀 Fast backend project creation
• 🛠️ Support for multiple frameworks: Express, Fastify, NestJS, AdonisJS
• 📊 Integration with various ORMs: Prisma, TypeORM, Mongoose, Drizzle, Sequelize, Lucid (AdonisJS)
• 🗄️ Support for different databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB
• 📦 Uses native CLIs for robust frameworks (NestJS, AdonisJS) and local templates for simple frameworks (Express, Fastify)
• 🔧 Customizable additional features and configurations
• 🎨 Beautiful and intuitive command-line interface
• ⚡ Automatic CLI installation for frameworks that require it
• 🚫 No fallback to templates for frameworks with official CLIs

Installation

# Global installation via npm
npm install -g aspen-cli

# Or via yarn
yarn global add aspen-cli

# Or via pnpm
pnpm add -g aspen-cli

Usage

Create a new project

# Create a new project with interactive wizard
aspen create my-project

# Create a project specifying directory
aspen create my-project --directory ./projects

# Create a project with specific template (for Express/Fastify)
aspen create my-project --template express-typescript

List available templates

aspen list

Initialize Aspen in an existing project

# Navigate to your existing project directory
cd my-existing-project

# Initialize Aspen
aspen init

Project Creation Options

When creating a new project, you can customize:

• Language: TypeScript or JavaScript
• Framework: Express, Fastify, NestJS, AdonisJS
• ORM: Prisma, TypeORM, Mongoose, Drizzle, Sequelize, Lucid (AdonisJS) or none
• Database: PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB or none
• Additional Features:
  • ESLint for code linting
  • Prettier for code formatting
  • Biome as an alternative formatter/linter
  • Jest for testing
  • Docker configuration
  • Swagger/OpenAPI documentation
  • JWT Authentication
  • Rate limiting
  • CORS support
  • Helmet for security
  • Winston for logging
  • Husky for git hooks
  • GitHub Actions for CI/CD
  • And more...

Framework Strategies

Simple Frameworks (Express, Fastify)

• Uses complete local templates with example files
• Includes pre-configured project structure
• Ready-to-use example controllers, services, and routes
• Faster setup with immediate development readiness

Robust Frameworks (NestJS, AdonisJS)

• Uses official CLIs only - no fallback to templates
• Automatically installs framework CLI if not present
• Leverages the full power and latest features of official tooling
• Ensures compatibility with framework best practices

Generated Project Structure

Express/Fastify Projects

my-backend-project/
├── src/
│   ├── controllers/     # Application controllers with examples
│   ├── models/          # Data models
│   ├── routes/          # Route definitions
│   ├── middlewares/     # Custom middlewares
│   ├── services/        # Business logic services
│   ├── utils/           # Utility functions
│   ├── config/          # Configuration files
│   └── index.ts         # Application entry point
├── .env                 # Environment variables
├── .env.example         # Environment variables example
├── .gitignore           # Git ignore rules
├── package.json         # Dependencies and scripts
├── tsconfig.json        # TypeScript configuration
├── Dockerfile           # Docker configuration (if selected)
├── docker-compose.yml   # Docker Compose setup (if selected)
└── README.md            # Project documentation

NestJS/AdonisJS Projects

my-backend-project/
├── [Framework-specific structure created by official CLI]
├── Additional ORM configuration (if selected)
├── Additional features configuration (if selected)
└── Environment and Docker setup (if selected)

Why This Approach?

• Reliability: Official CLIs are maintained by framework authors and always up-to-date
• Best Practices: Framework CLIs ensure proper project structure and configuration
• No Maintenance Burden: No need to maintain custom templates for complex frameworks
• Flexibility: Simple frameworks get rich templates, complex frameworks get official tooling
• Performance: Faster setup for simple projects, robust setup for complex projects

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our contributing guidelines for more information.

License

MIT

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions/suggestions, please open an issue on our GitHub repository or let me know by any means.