expressjs-mvc-generator

Zero-dependency CLI that scaffolds a clean, modern TypeScript Express.js project in an MVC layout, with first-class support for every popular database.

Features

• TypeScript-first – strict mode, ESM, hot reload via tsx.
• Clean MVC layout – routes / controllers / services / models / middlewares / config.
• Pluggable database – PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, MSSQL (via Sequelize) or MongoDB (via Mongoose). Or none.
• Production-ready basics – CORS, JSON body parsing, structured error handling, 404 handler, env loading, graceful shutdown.
• Tiny footprint – the generator itself has zero runtime dependencies.

Install

npm install -g expressjs-mvc-generator

Or run once with npx:

npx expressjs-mvc-generator my-app --db postgres

Usage

express-mvc <project-name> [options]

Options

| Flag | Description | Default | |------|-------------|---------| | --db <type> | One of: postgres, mysql, mariadb, sqlite, mssql, mongodb, none | postgres | | --force, -f | Allow non-empty target directory | false | | --no-git | Skip .gitignore | – | | --version, -v | Print CLI version | – | | --help, -h | Show help | – |

Examples

express-mvc my-api                    # PostgreSQL (default)
express-mvc shop-api --db mongodb
express-mvc edge-app --db sqlite
express-mvc legacy --db mssql --force
express-mvc plain-api --db none

Generated project

my-app/
├── .env.example
├── .gitignore
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── README.md
└── src/
    ├── server.ts                 # entry — starts HTTP server, graceful shutdown
    ├── app.ts                    # express app, middlewares, routes
    ├── config/
    │   ├── env.ts                # typed env loader
    │   └── db.ts                 # DB connection (sequelize / mongoose / none)
    ├── routes/
    │   ├── index.ts
    │   └── health.routes.ts
    ├── controllers/
    │   └── health.controller.ts
    ├── services/
    │   └── health.service.ts
    ├── models/                   # only when --db is not "none"
    │   └── user.model.ts
    ├── middlewares/
    │   ├── error.middleware.ts
    │   └── notFound.middleware.ts
    └── utils/
        └── logger.ts

Scripts in the generated project

npm run dev      # tsx watch — hot reload
npm run build    # compile to dist/
npm start        # run compiled JS

License

MIT © Muhammad Arqam