create-node-backend-ts

A CLI tool to scaffold a complete Node.js + TypeScript backend with modern best practices.

Generate a ready-to-use backend with:

• Express for HTTP server
• TypeScript with strict typing
• MongoDB integration using Mongoose
• Logging via Winston with daily rotated logs
• Global Error Handler for centralized error management
• Async Handler Wrapper to simplify async route handling
• Environment Configuration via .env files
• Request Validation using Joi
• Organized Route / Controller / Service / Model structure

Perfect for rapid backend project setup with minimal boilerplate.

🚀 Installation (No global install needed)

Run the generator using npx:

npx create-node-backend-ts my-backend

Or using yarn:

yarn create node-backend my-backend

Or using pnpm:

pnpm dlx create-node-backend-ts my-backend

my-backend will be the folder name of your new project.

📦 After Generating Project

cd my-backend          # Go into your project folder
npm install            # Install dependencies
npm run dev            # Start the development server

Development mode uses tsx watch (if configured) or ts-node-dev.

Logs will be written to the logs/ folder, with console output only in development.

🗂 Project Structure

Example of the generated backend structure:

my-backend/
├─ logs/                 # Rotated log files
├─ src/
│  ├─ controllers/       # Route handlers
│  ├─ services/          # Business logic
│  ├─ routes/            # API routes
│  ├─ models/            # Mongoose models
│  ├─ middlewares/       # Error handler, async wrapper
│  ├─ utils/             # Logger, helpers, etc.
│  └─ server.ts          # Entry point
├─ package.json
├─ tsconfig.json
├─ .env                  # Environment variables
└─ README.md

⚡ CLI Module Generation

After creating your project, you can generate boilerplate module files for any feature:

npx create-node-backend-ts --generate <module-name>

For example:

npx create-node-backend-ts --generate product

This will automatically create the following files:

src/controllers/product.controller.ts
src/models/product.model.ts
src/services/product.service.ts
src/routes/product.routes.ts

Replace product with any module name to scaffold the boilerplate automatically.

⚙ Features

Global Error Handling

All errors in routes are caught and sent in a structured JSON format.

Async Route Wrapper

Avoid repetitive try-catch blocks in async routes.

Validation with Joi

Request payloads can be validated easily with reusable schemas.

Logging with Winston

• Daily rotated log files (logs/)
• Console logging only in development mode

Environment Variables

Load .env files automatically with dotenv.

💡 Tips

• Add .env for sensitive configs like MONGO_URI, PORT, etc.
• In production, use file logs only; console logs are for development.
• Extend controllers, services, models, and routes as needed — template is modular and CLI-assisted.

Use the CLI to generate any module at any time after project creation.