⚡ Exon — The "Create React App" for Express APIs

🔥 Bootstrap production-ready Express.js backends in 30 seconds

⚡ Try It Now

npx exon-cli create my-api
cd my-api && npm start

🚀 Your backend is live with Swagger docs.

😩 The Problem

Setting up an Express backend every time is repetitive and slow:

• Install Express
• Setup TypeScript
• Configure logging
• Setup error handling
• Add Swagger docs
• Create folder structure

⏱️ Takes 30–60 minutes every time.

⚡ The Solution

Exon does everything instantly.

👉 Production-ready backend in under 30 seconds

⭐ Why Developers Love Exon

• ⚡ Zero setup time
• 📚 Built-in Swagger API docs
• 🧠 Clean architecture
• 🛡️ Production-ready error handling
• 📦 Scalable folder structure
• 🔥 Works out of the box

✨ Features

• ⚡ Instant Express backend setup
• 🔄 TypeScript & JavaScript support
• 📚 Swagger/OpenAPI documentation
• 🧠 Production logging system
• 🛡️ Error handling utilities
• 🗄️ Database ready
• 📦 Clean project structure
• 🚀 Production best practices

📦 Installation

Option 1: Use with npx (recommended)

npx exon-cli create my-app

Option 2: Install globally

npm install -g exon-cli

🚀 Quick Start

1️⃣ Create Project

exon-cli create my-express-app

2️⃣ Choose Language

• TypeScript
• JavaScript

3️⃣ Choose Database

• Prisma
• Drizzle
• Mongoose
• None

4️⃣ Start Server

cd my-express-app
npm start

🎬 Example Output

Server running on http://localhost:3802
Swagger Docs: http://localhost:3802/docs

📁 Project Structure

my-express-app
│
├── src
│   ├── controllers
│   ├── routes
│   ├── middleware
│   ├── models
│   ├── helpers
│   ├── db
│   ├── utils
│   │   ├── apiError.ts
│   │   ├── apiResponse.ts
│   │   └── asyncHandler.ts
│   ├── app.ts
│   └── index.ts
│
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md

🔎 Production Logging (Built-In)

Every project includes:

• Morgan → HTTP request logging
• Winston → Application logging
• Daily log rotation

Example Logs

2026-03-09 11:40:10 [info] GET /api/users 200 12ms
2026-03-09 11:40:12 [warn] Invalid login attempt
2026-03-09 11:40:15 [error] Database connection failed

📚 Swagger API Documentation

Access docs instantly:

http://localhost:3802/docs

Example Route

/**
 * @swagger
 * /api/v1/users:
 *   get:
 *     summary: Get all users
 *     responses:
 *       200:
 *         description: Success
 */

🧠 Included Utilities

asyncHandler

Automatically handles async errors:

router.get(
  "/users",
  asyncHandler(async (req, res) => {
    // your code
  }),
);

apiResponse

Standardized API responses:

res.status(200).json(new apiResponse(200, data, "Success"));

apiError

Consistent error handling:

throw new apiError(400, "Invalid request");

🌍 Works With

Databases

• MongoDB
• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• SQLite

ORMs

• Drizzle
• Mongoose

Platforms

• AWS
• Vercel
• Docker
• Google Cloud
• Heroku

⚔️ Exon vs Manual Setup

| Task | Exon ⚡ | Manual 😵 | | ----------------- | ------- | --------- | | Setup Time | 30 sec | 30–60 min | | Swagger Docs | ✅ | ❌ | | Logging | ✅ | ❌ | | Error Handling | ✅ | ❌ | | Project Structure | ✅ | ❌ |

👉 Stop wasting time on setup.

🎯 Use Cases

• REST API development
• SaaS backends
• Microservices
• Mobile app backends
• Authentication servers
• Rapid prototyping

⚙️ Environment Variables

Create a .env file:

PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development
DB_URI=your_database_uri

🎮 Easter Egg

Default port:

3802

Leet Speak:

E → 3
X → 8
O → 0
N → 2

👉 EXON = 3802

📊 Performance

• Lightweight dependencies
• Fast startup
• Scalable architecture
• Production optimized

⭐ Loved by Developers

🚀 "Saved me hours of setup" 🔥 "Best Express CLI I've used" ⚡ "Super clean structure"

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome!

• Report issues
• Suggest features
• Submit pull requests
• Improve documentation

📄 License

MIT License

❤️ Support

👉 GitHub: https://github.com/arpitbhatia23/exon

⭐ If Exon helped you, please star the repo!

🔍 SEO Keywords

express cli express generator nodejs backend starter typescript express boilerplate express api template nodejs rest api generator backend scaffold tool express production setup express starter template

🔥 Built to make backend development fast again.