gen-express-backend

gen-express-backend is a simple CLI tool that instantly generates a ready-to-use Express + MongoDB backend with controllers, routes, models, config, and boilerplate files.

Create a full backend project in one command:

🚀 Features

• Generates a clean Express project structure
• Pre-configured MongoDB + Mongoose setup
• Includes User model, routes, and controller
• Global error middleware included
• Auto-generated .env file
• Nodemon included for development
• Beginner-friendly and extendable

📦 Installation

Run directly using npx (recommended):

📁 Project Structure

The generated project looks like this:

myapp/
├── src/
│   ├── app.js
│   ├── server.js
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── db.js
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   └── userController.js
│   ├── routes/
│   │   └── userRoutes.js
│   ├── models/
│   │   └── User.js
│   └── middleware/
│       └── errorMiddleware.js
├── .env
└── package.json

🛠 Usage

1. Create a new project

npx gen-express-backend myapp

2. Install dependencies

cd myapp npm install

3. Start development server

npm run dev

Your server runs at: http://localhost:5000

🔌 Default API Endpoints

GET /api/users

Returns all users.

POST /api/users

Creates a new user (expects JSON body).

🌱 Environment Variables

A default .env file is created:

PORT=5000 MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/testdb

Modify the MongoDB connection string based on your setup.

📄 Requirements

• Node.js v14+ • MongoDB (local or cloud)