Backend MVC Template

A complete backend API template following MVC architecture with Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB, and JWT authentication. Perfect for rapid backend development and learning MVC patterns.

📋 Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (version 14.0.0 or higher) - Download here
• MongoDB - Download here or use MongoDB Atlas (cloud)
• npm (comes with Node.js)

🚀 Quick Start

Method 1: Using NPX (Recommended)

# Create a new backend project with npx (no installation needed!)
npx create-mvc-backend-app my-awesome-backend

Project Name Options:

• Enter a name (e.g., my-backend): Creates a new directory with that name
• Enter .: Uses the current directory (like Vite)

Alternative Usage:

# Run without project name (will prompt you)
npx create-mvc-backend-app

# Use current directory
npx create-mvc-backend-app .

What happens when you run the command:

🚀 MVC Backend App Generator
============================
Project name: my-awesome-backend

📁 Creating project: my-awesome-backend
📂 Created directory: my-awesome-backend
✅ Copied src
✅ Copied server.js
✅ Copied env.example
✅ Copied README.md
✅ Copied LICENSE
✅ Created package.json

🎉 Project created successfully!

Next steps:
1. cd my-awesome-backend
2. npm install
3. cp env.example .env
4. Update .env with your MongoDB URI and JWT secret
5. npm run dev

Happy coding! 🚀

Method 2: Clone from GitHub (Without npm)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/DeveloperChetram/backend-setup.git my-backend-project

# Navigate to the project directory
cd my-backend-project

# Install dependencies
npm install

⚙️ Setup & Configuration

1. Environment Variables

# Copy the environment template
cp env.example .env

2. Configure Environment Variables

Update your .env file with the following:

# Database Configuration
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/your-database-name
# For MongoDB Atlas: mongodb+srv://username:[email protected]/database-name

# JWT Secret (generate a strong secret key)
JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-jwt-key-change-this-in-production

# Server Configuration
PORT=5000
NODE_ENV=development

# Frontend URL (for CORS)
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000

# Cookie Configuration
COOKIE_EXPIRES_IN=5d

3. MongoDB Setup

Option A: Local MongoDB

1. Install MongoDB locally
2. Start MongoDB service
3. Use mongodb://localhost:27017/your-database-name in your .env

Option B: MongoDB Atlas (Cloud)

1. Create a free account at MongoDB Atlas
2. Create a new cluster
3. Get your connection string
4. Replace <password> and <dbname> in the connection string
5. Use the connection string in your .env

4. Start the Server

# Development mode (with auto-restart)
npm run dev

# Production mode
npm start

The server will start on http://localhost:5000 (or your specified PORT).

✨ Features

• ✅ User Registration - Complete user signup with validation
• ✅ User Login - Secure authentication with JWT
• ✅ User Logout - Proper session termination
• ✅ JWT Authentication - Secure token-based auth
• ✅ HTTP-only Cookies - XSS protection
• ✅ Password Hashing - bcryptjs security
• ✅ Input Validation - Server-side validation
• ✅ Error Handling - Consistent error responses
• ✅ CORS Configuration - Cross-origin support
• ✅ MongoDB Integration - Mongoose ODM
• ✅ MVC Architecture - Clean code organization

📁 Project Structure

backend-mvc-template/
├── src/
│   ├── controllers/          # Request handlers
│   │   └── auth.controllers.js
│   ├── models/               # Database schemas
│   │   └── user.model.js
│   ├── routes/               # API route definitions
│   │   └── auth.routes.js
│   ├── middlewares/          # Cross-cutting concerns
│   │   └── auth.middleware.js
│   ├── db/                   # Database connection
│   │   └── db.js
│   ├── utils/                # Utility functions
│   │   └── cookieOptions.js
│   └── app.js                # Express app configuration
├── server.js                 # Server entry point
├── package.json              # Dependencies and scripts
├── env.example               # Environment variables template
└── README.md                 # This file

API Endpoints

Authentication

| Method | Endpoint | Description | Body | |--------|----------|-------------|------| | POST | /api/auth/register | Register new user | { name, email, password } | | POST | /api/auth/login | Login user | { email, password } | | GET | /api/auth/logout | Logout user | - |

Health Check

| Method | Endpoint | Description | |--------|----------|-------------| | GET | / | Server health check | | GET | /api/health | Server health check |

API Response Format

Success Response

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Operation completed successfully",
  "data": {
    "user": {
      "_id": "user_id",
      "name": "User Name",
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "isActive": true,
      "createdAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
      "updatedAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"
    }
  }
}

Error Response

{
  "success": false,
  "message": "Error description"
}

Example Usage

Register User

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/auth/register \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "John Doe",
    "email": "[email protected]",
    "password": "password123"
  }'

Login User

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/auth/login \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "email": "[email protected]",
    "password": "password123"
  }'

Logout User

curl -X GET http://localhost:5000/api/auth/logout \
  -H "Cookie: token=your-jwt-token"

Security Features

• Password Hashing: Uses bcryptjs for secure password storage
• JWT Tokens: Secure authentication tokens
• HTTP-only Cookies: Prevents XSS attacks
• CORS Protection: Configurable cross-origin requests
• Input Validation: Server-side validation
• Error Handling: Secure error messages

Environment Variables

| Variable | Description | Default | |----------|-------------|---------| | MONGODB_URI | MongoDB connection string | Required | | JWT_SECRET | JWT signing secret | Required | | PORT | Server port | 5000 | | NODE_ENV | Environment mode | development | | FRONTEND_URL | Frontend URL for CORS | http://localhost:3000 |

Dependencies

• express: Web framework
• mongoose: MongoDB ODM
• bcryptjs: Password hashing
• jsonwebtoken: JWT token handling
• cookie-parser: Cookie parsing middleware
• cors: Cross-origin resource sharing
• dotenv: Environment variable loading

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server with nodemon
npm run dev

# Start production server
npm start

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Express.js team for the amazing framework
• MongoDB team for the database
• All contributors who help improve this template

📨 Connect with me 🦄

Made with ❤️ for the developer community