create-express-app-starter

A lightweight, zero-config CLI tool to instantly bootstrap production-ready Node.js + Express + MongoDB (Mongoose) REST APIs with ES Modules.

✨ Features

• 🚀 Zero-Config Generation: Bootstrap a complete Express boilerplate in seconds.
• 🧹 Automatic Fail-Safe Cleanup: If installation fails, created files are automatically rolled back.
• 📦 ES Modules Native: Native import/export support ("type": "module").
• 🗄️ MongoDB & Database Name Config: Specify custom DB_NAME alongside MONGO_URI in .env.
• 📁 Clean & Detailed Architecture: Pre-configured MVC layout (controllers/, models/, routes/, Database/).
• ⚡ Optimized Fast Setup: Fast dependency installation with ora progress spinners.
• 💻 Cross-Platform: Fully compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux.

🚀 Quick Start

Run inside any empty directory:

mkdir my-api
cd my-api
npm create express-app-starter

Or using npx:

npx create-express-app-starter

⚙️ Environment Configuration (.env)

PORT=3000
MONGO_URI=mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@cluster0.mongodb.net
DB_NAME=my_express_db

The database connection in Database/db.js automatically consumes DB_NAME from your .env configuration.

🏃 Running Your Application

npm start

Server starts automatically with nodemon at http://localhost:3000.

📂 Project Structure

my-api/
├── Database/
│   └── db.js            # Mongoose connection with DB_NAME setup
├── controllers/
│   └── controller.js    # Detailed async sample controller
├── models/
│   └── model.js         # Detailed sample Mongoose schema
├── routes/
│   └── route.js         # Express router (/api/sample)
├── .env                 # Environment variables (PORT, MONGO_URI, DB_NAME)
├── .gitignore           # Ignores node_modules and .env
├── index.js             # Express app entry point
├── package.json         # Dependencies & scripts
└── README.md            # Generated documentation

📄 License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.