express-generator1

Scaffold a production-ready Express.js app in seconds — with TypeScript, your choice of database, JWT auth, and Docker baked in.

Quick start

npx express-generator1 my-app

An interactive wizard will ask a few questions, scaffold the project, and tell you what to run next.

Prefer flags? Skip the wizard:

npx express-generator1 my-app --ts --db=postgres --auth --docker --yes

Or install globally and run anywhere:

npm install -g express-generator1
express-gen my-app

What you get

• Modern Express 4.19 app with sensible defaults — JSON body parsing, cookies, logging, error handling, dotenv
• TypeScript or JavaScript — fully typed templates, strict mode, source maps
• Database integration — pick one:
  • MongoDB (Mongoose)
  • PostgreSQL (Prisma)
  • MySQL (Sequelize)
  • SQLite (better-sqlite3)
• JWT auth (optional) — register / login / me endpoints, bcrypt-hashed passwords, auth middleware
• Docker (optional) — multi-stage Dockerfile + docker-compose.yml with your DB as a service
• Linting (optional) — ESLint v9 flat config + Prettier + Husky pre-commit hook
• View engines (optional) — Pug, EJS, or Handlebars

CLI flags

| Flag | Values | Description | |------|--------|-------------| | --ts / --js | — | TypeScript (default) or JavaScript | | -d, --db <type> | mongo · postgres · mysql · sqlite · none | Database | | --auth | — | JWT auth scaffold | | --docker | — | Dockerfile + docker-compose | | --lint | — | ESLint + Prettier + Husky | | -v, --view <engine> | pug · ejs · hbs · none | View engine | | -c, --css <engine> | plain · less · sass · stylus | CSS engine | | --git | — | git init | | -y, --yes | — | Skip prompts (use flags + defaults) | | -f, --force | — | Allow non-empty target directory |

After scaffolding

cd my-app
npm install
npm run dev          # starts on http://localhost:3000

If you chose Prisma:

npx prisma migrate dev --name init

If you chose Docker:

docker compose up -d

JWT auth endpoints

When you use --auth, your app gets:

POST /auth/register   { email, password }   →  { token, user }
POST /auth/login      { email, password }   →  { token, user }
GET  /auth/me         Bearer <token>        →  { user }

Passwords are hashed with bcryptjs. The User model auto-wires to your chosen database (or an in-memory store if you pick --db=none).

Why this generator?

| | express-generator1 | express-generator | |---|---|---| | Interactive wizard | ✅ | ❌ | | TypeScript | ✅ | ❌ | | Database integration | ✅ 4 options | ❌ | | JWT auth | ✅ | ❌ | | Docker | ✅ | ❌ | | ESLint v9 / Prettier / Husky | ✅ | ❌ | | Node engine | ≥ 18 | ≥ 0.10 | | Generated style | const/let, async | var, callbacks |

License

MIT. Originally derived from express-generator by TJ Holowaychuk and contributors; modernized and extended.