Backforge

Backforge is a CLI for scaffolding backend projects with an opinionated structure, practical defaults, and minimal setup.

Version 1.0.0 currently supports generating a TypeScript functional backend starter from interactive prompts.

Features

• Interactive CLI prompt flow for project setup
• Project name validation and normalization
• Template-based project generation
• TypeScript functional backend starter template
• Optional dependency installation after generation
• Ready-to-run Express starter with env config, health route, and sample module

Current Support

Backforge currently supports:

• Language: TypeScript
• Architecture: Functional
• Package managers: pnpm, npm

Planned template structure:

• ts/functional
• ts/oop
• js/functional
• js/oop

Installation

Install dependencies for this project:

pnpm install

Run the CLI locally:

pnpm dev

Build the CLI:

pnpm build

Usage

Start the CLI:

pnpm dev

Or pass a default project name:

pnpm dev my-backend-app

The CLI will guide you through:

• project name
• language selection
• architecture selection
• package manager selection
• dependency installation preference

After confirmation, Backforge will:

1. Resolve the matching template.
2. Create the target project directory.
3. Copy template files into the new project.
4. Replace placeholders like {{projectName}}.
5. Optionally install dependencies.
6. Print next-step commands for running the generated app.

Generated Project

The current starter template includes:

• Express app bootstrap
• environment config with dotenv
• /api/health route
• sample module with controller, service, and routes
• TypeScript, ESLint, and Prettier setup
• starter .env and .env.example

Example Flow

$ pnpm dev my-service
? Project name: my-service
? Select language: TypeScript
? Select architecture style: Functional
? Select package manager: pnpm
? Install dependencies? Yes

Output:

Project created successfully!
Location: /path/to/my-service

Next steps:
  cd my-service
  pnpm run dev

Project Structure

src/
  cli.ts
  constants/
  generator/
  prompts/
  types/
  utils/
template/
  ts/
    functional/

Development

Useful commands:

pnpm dev
pnpm build

Generated template docs live in:

• template/README.md

Project reference docs:

• CHANGELOG.md
• CODEBASE_INDEX.md

Notes

• The current release focuses on the TypeScript functional starter.
• ts/oop, js/functional, and js/oop folders exist as placeholders for future templates.
• If dependency installation fails, Backforge still finishes generation and prints manual install commands.

License

MIT