Express Modular Generator

A modern command-line tool to generate Express.js applications with clean MVC architecture and Mongoose ODM integration.

✨ Features

• 🏗️ Modular MVC Architecture - Clean separation of concerns
• 🍃 Mongoose Integration - Modern MongoDB ODM with schema validation
• 🚀 Latest Dependencies - Express 5.x, Mongoose 8.x, and more
• 🔒 Security Ready - CORS, Helmet, and error handling built-in
• ⚡ Zero Configuration - Ready to run with minimal setup
• 📦 Modular Design - Easy to add and manage modules

📋 Installation

npm install -g express-mod-cli

🚀 Quick Start

Create a new project

express-mod-cli create my-project
cd my-project
npm run dev

Add modules to your project

express-mod-cli add users
express-mod-cli add products
express-mod-cli add orders

📖 Commands

| Command | Description | Example | | ----------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | | create <project-name> | Create a new Express project | express-mod-cli create my-app | | add <module-name> | Add a new module to current project | express-mod-cli add users | | --help or -h | Show help information | express-mod-cli --help | | --version or -v | Show version number | express-mod-cli --version |

🗄️ Database Configuration

MongoDB with Mongoose

Your generated project uses Mongoose for elegant MongoDB object modeling. The configuration is already set up in src/config/db.js.

Local MongoDB Setup

1. Install MongoDB locally or use Docker:

   # Using Docker
   docker run -d -p 27017:27017 --name mongodb mongo:latest

2. Update your .env file:

   MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017
   DB_NAME=your_project_name_db
   PORT=5000
   NODE_ENV=development

MongoDB Atlas Setup (Cloud)

1. Create a MongoDB Atlas account at mongodb.com/atlas
2. Get your connection string from Atlas dashboard
3. Update your .env file:

   MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://username:[email protected]
   DB_NAME=your_project_name_db
   PORT=5000
   NODE_ENV=production

🏗️ Generated Project Structure

Each generated project follows this clean structure:

my-project/
├── src/
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── db.js                 # Mongoose connection setup
│   ├── middleware/
│   │   └── errorHandler.js       # Global error handling
│   ├── modules/                  # Your business modules
│   │   └── [module-name]/
│   │       ├── module.model.js   # Mongoose schema & model
│   │       ├── module.controller.js # Business logic
│   │       └── module.routes.js  # Express routes
│   ├── utils/                    # Utility functions
│   └── index.js                  # Main server file
├── .env                          # Environment variables
├── .gitignore                    # Git ignore rules
└── package.json                  # Dependencies & scripts

📦 Module Architecture

Each module generates exactly 3 files following MVC pattern:

🔹 Model ({module}.model.js)

const mongoose = require("mongoose");

const userSchema = new mongoose.Schema(
  {
    name: { type: String, required: true, trim: true },
    description: { type: String, trim: true },
    status: {
      type: String,
      enum: ["active", "inactive"],
      default: "active",
    },
  },
  { timestamps: true }
);

module.exports = mongoose.model("User", userSchema);

🔹 Controller ({module}.controller.js)

const User = require("./user.model");

async function getAll(req, res, next) {
  try {
    const items = await User.find().sort({ createdAt: -1 });
    res.json({
      success: true,
      data: items,
      message: "Users retrieved successfully",
    });
  } catch (error) {
    next(error);
  }
}
// ... other CRUD methods

🔹 Routes ({module}.routes.js)

const express = require("express");
const router = express.Router();
const userController = require("./user.controller");

router.get("/", userController.getAll);
router.get("/:id", userController.getById);
router.post("/", userController.create);
router.patch("/:id", userController.update);
router.delete("/:id", userController.remove);

module.exports = router;

🔗 API Endpoints

Each generated module provides RESTful API endpoints:

| Method | Endpoint | Description | Response | | -------- | --------------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | GET | /{module} | Get all items | { success: true, data: [...], message: "..." } | | GET | /{module}/:id | Get one item | { success: true, data: {...}, message: "..." } | | POST | /{module} | Create new item | { success: true, data: {...}, message: "..." } | | PATCH | /{module}/:id | Update item | { success: true, data: {...}, message: "..." } | | DELETE | /{module}/:id | Delete item | { success: true, data: {...}, message: "..." } |

🔍 Example API Usage

# Get all users
curl http://localhost:5000/users

# Get specific user
curl http://localhost:5000/users/60d5ec49f1b2c8b1f8e4e1a1

# Create new user
curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/users \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "John Doe", "description": "Software Developer"}'

# Update user
curl -X PATCH http://localhost:5000/users/60d5ec49f1b2c8b1f8e4e1a1 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"status": "inactive"}'

🛠️ Technology Stack

Core Dependencies

• Express.js 5.x - Fast, unopinionated web framework
• Mongoose 8.x - Elegant MongoDB object modeling
• dotenv 17.x - Environment variable management
• CORS 2.x - Cross-origin resource sharing
• Helmet 8.x - Security middleware

Development Dependencies

• Nodemon 3.x - Development server with auto-restart

🏃‍♂️ Development Workflow

1. Create Project:

   express-mod-cli create my-ecommerce-app
   cd my-ecommerce-app

2. Configure Database:

   # Edit .env file
   MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017
   DB_NAME=ecommerce_db

3. Add Business Modules:

   express-mod-cli add products
   express-mod-cli add categories
   express-mod-cli add orders
   express-mod-cli add customers

4. Start Development:

   npm run dev

🎯 Best Practices

Model Customization

After generating a module, customize the Mongoose schema:

// Example: Enhanced User model
const userSchema = new mongoose.Schema(
  {
    name: { type: String, required: true, trim: true },
    email: { type: String, required: true, unique: true },
    password: { type: String, required: true, minlength: 6 },
    role: { type: String, enum: ["user", "admin"], default: "user" },
    profile: {
      avatar: String,
      bio: String,
      phone: String,
    },
  },
  { timestamps: true }
);

Controller Enhancement

Add business logic to controllers:

// Add custom methods
async function getUserByEmail(req, res, next) {
  try {
    const user = await User.findOne({ email: req.params.email });
    // ... handle response
  } catch (error) {
    next(error);
  }
}

🤝 Contributing

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

📝 Changelog

v1.1.0 (Latest)

• 🆕 Mongoose Integration - Replaced native MongoDB driver with Mongoose ODM
• 🔄 Modular CLI Architecture - Refactored CLI into clean, maintainable modules
• ⬆️ Updated Dependencies - Latest versions (Express 5.x, Mongoose 8.x)
• 🐛 Bug Fixes - Resolved template generation issues
• 📚 Enhanced Documentation - Complete API reference and examples
• 🔒 Security Improvements - Zero vulnerabilities in generated projects

v1.0.11 (Previous)

• Basic project and module generation
• Native MongoDB driver integration
• Simple MVC structure

📞 Support

• 🐛 Issues: GitHub Issues
• 📖 Documentation: This README
• 💬 Discussions: GitHub Discussions

📜 License

MIT © Nizam Uddin

Made with ❤️ for the Express.js community