🚀 create-fullstack-setup

A modern CLI tool to generate production-ready backend or full-stack applications with Express in seconds.

create-fullstack-setup streamlines project setup by automating repetitive tasks like folder structure creation, dependency installation, middleware configuration, and environment setup—so you can focus on building features, not boilerplate.

🚀 Quick Start (Recommended)

The fastest way to use the CLI is with npx (no global install required):

npx create-fullstack-setup@latest

✨ Features

• 🎯 Interactive Setup - Guided prompts for a personalized project
• ⚡ Fast Scaffolding - Ready-to-run projects in under a minute
• 🔧 Feature-Based - Only include what you need (JWT, MongoDB, Cloudinary, etc.)
• 📦 Multiple Frontends - Choose React, Next.js, or backend-only
• 🛠️ TypeScript & JavaScript - Full support for both languages
• 🌍 Cross-Platform - Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• 📝 Zero Configuration - Pre-wired middleware and utilities

📋 Requirements

• Node.js v18 or higher
• npm v9 or higher

🔧 Installation

Install the CLI globally via npm:

npm install -g create-fullstack-setup@latest

Verify the installation:

create-fullstack-setup --version

🚀 Quick Start

Create a new project

create-fullstack-setup@latest my-app

Create in the current directory

create-fullstack-setup@latest .

The CLI will guide you through an interactive setup process.

📖 Interactive Setup Guide

The CLI prompts you step-by-step to customize your project:

1️⃣ Project Name

Choose a name for your project folder.

? Project name: my-awesome-app

2️⃣ Frontend Framework (Optional)

Select a frontend framework or skip for a backend-only project:

• React - Modern UI library
• Next.js - Full-stack React framework
• None - Backend API only

? Choose frontend framework: 
  ○ React
  ○ Next.js
  ● None

3️⃣ Backend Framework

Currently supported:

• Express - Fast, minimalist web framework

? Choose backend framework:
  ● Express

4️⃣ Language

Choose your preferred language:

• JavaScript - Classic, widely supported
• TypeScript - Type-safe, modern development

? Select language:
  ○ JavaScript
  ● TypeScript

5️⃣ Backend Features

Enable features individually based on your needs:

| Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | JWT Authentication | Token-based auth with middleware | | Cloudinary | Cloud-based media management | | CORS | Cross-Origin Resource Sharing | | Cookie Parser | Parse cookies from requests | | Dotenv | Environment variable management | | MongoDB | NoSQL database with Mongoose ODM | | Zod Validation | Schema validation library | | Bcrypt | Password hashing utilities | | Multer | File upload handling |

? Enable JWT Authentication? (Y/n)
? Enable Cloudinary? (Y/n)
? Enable CORS? (Y/n)
...

📂 Generated Project Structure

Express + TypeScript

my-app/
├── server/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── app.ts                  # Express app configuration
│   │   ├── server.ts               # Server entry point
│   │   ├── routes/                 # API routes
│   │   ├── controllers/            # Request handlers
│   │   ├── middlewares/
│   │   │   └── auth.middleware.ts  # JWT authentication
│   │   ├── utils/
│   │   │   └── Cloudinary.ts       # Cloudinary setup
│   │   └── config/
│   │       └── db.ts               # MongoDB connection
│   ├── .env.example                # Environment template
│   ├── tsconfig.json               # TypeScript config
│   ├── nodemon.json                # Dev server config
│   └── package.json
└── client/                         # (if frontend selected)
    └── ...

Express + JavaScript

my-app/
├── server/
│   ├── app.js                      # Express app configuration
│   ├── server.js                   # Server entry point
│   ├── routes/                     # API routes
│   ├── controllers/                # Request handlers
│   ├── middlewares/
│   │   └── auth.middleware.js      # JWT authentication
│   ├── utils/
│   │   └── Cloudinary.js           # Cloudinary setup
│   ├── .env.example                # Environment template
│   └── package.json
└── client/                         # (if frontend selected)
    └── ...

⚙️ Feature Details

🔐 JWT Authentication

When enabled, the CLI generates:

• Authentication middleware for protected routes
• Support for both Authorization header and HTTP-only cookies
• Token verification utilities

Environment variable:

ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET=your_secret_key_here

☁️ Cloudinary Integration

When enabled, the CLI generates:

• Pre-configured Cloudinary utility class
• Automatic connection on server startup
• Ready-to-use upload/delete methods

Environment variables:

CLOUDINARY_NAME=your_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_api_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret

🗄️ MongoDB (Mongoose)

When enabled, the CLI generates:

• Database connection utility
• Automatic connection with retry logic
• Connection error handling

Environment variable:

MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/myapp

🌐 CORS

Enables Cross-Origin Resource Sharing with sensible defaults.

🍪 Cookie Parser

Parses cookies from incoming requests for session management.

🔒 Bcrypt

Utilities for hashing and comparing passwords securely.

📁 Multer

Middleware for handling multipart/form-data file uploads.

✅ Zod Validation

Schema-based validation for request data.

🔐 Environment Variables

All required environment variables are written to:

server/.env.example

Example file:

# Server
PORT=5000

# Authentication
ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_here

# Cloudinary (if enabled)
CLOUDINARY_NAME=
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=

# Database (if MongoDB enabled)
MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/myapp

⚠️ Important

Copy .env.example to .env and fill in your actual values before running:

cp server/.env.example server/.env

🏃 Running Your Project

Backend

cd my-app/server
npm install
npm run dev

The server starts on http://localhost:5000 (or your configured PORT).

Frontend (if generated)

cd my-app/client
npm install
npm run dev

• React: Runs on http://localhost:5173 (Vite default)
• Next.js: Runs on http://localhost:3000

🎯 Use Cases

• 🚀 Rapid Prototyping - Get ideas running quickly
• 📚 Learning Express - Study well-structured projects
• 👥 Team Consistency - Standardize project scaffolding
• 🏗️ Production Starters - Begin with best practices

🛠️ Design Principles

• ✅ Feature-Based Injection - Only include what you select
• 📝 Language Aware - Respects JavaScript vs TypeScript conventions
• 🔄 Idempotent Operations - No duplicate injections or overwrites
• 🌍 Cross-Platform - Works on all operating systems
• 📦 Template Resolution - Uses __dirname for global CLI safety

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• Report bugs
• Suggest new features
• Submit pull requests

👨‍💻 Author

Uttam Yadav
Full-Stack Developer

📄 License

MIT

📝 Notes

• This CLI focuses on project setup, not application logic
• Generated code is fully customizable—modify as needed
• Templates follow industry best practices
• No vendor lock-in—standard Express/Node.js code

🌟 Star this project

If you find this tool helpful, consider giving it a star on GitHub!

Happy Coding! 🎉