ignite-backend

Professional, fast scaffolding for modern Express backends in JavaScript or TypeScript. Choose a language, optional database layer (MongoDB / PostgreSQL / MySQL), and JWT authentication in seconds.

✨ Why ignite-backend?

| Goal | What You Get | | ---- | ------------- | | Start quickly | One interactive command with sensible defaults | | Consistent structure | Opinionated MVC layout (controllers / routes / models) | | Flexible data | Mongo (Mongoose) or SQL (Prisma) or skip DB entirely | | Built‑in auth | Optional JWT register/login flow + middleware | | TS first | Full TypeScript template plus parallel JS template | | Low friction | Minimal dependencies, clear scripts, environment setup |

🚀 Quick Start

Using npm (recommended):

npm create ignite-backend@latest

Or with npx:

npx ignite-backend@latest

Beta channel (pre‑release testing):

npm create ignite-backend@beta

Follow the prompts; your project directory is created and populated.

⚙️ CLI Options (Prompts)

| Prompt | Choices | Effect | | ------ | ------- | ------ | | Language | JavaScript / TypeScript | Determines file extensions & TS build setup | | Database | MongoDB / PostgreSQL / MySQL / None | Adds Mongoose or Prisma boilerplate (or none) | | Auth | Yes / No | Adds User model/schema, JWT auth routes & middleware |

Non‑interactive usage (example):

npx ignite-backend@latest my-api --yes --language typescript --database postgresql --auth

📁 Generated Structure (excerpt)

your-project/
	app.(js|ts)
	server.(js|ts)
	package.json
	src/
		controllers/
			exampleController.(js|ts)
		routes/
			exampleRoutes.(js|ts)
		models/
			Example.(js|ts)
			(User.(js|ts) if auth)
		authMiddleware.(js|ts)           (if auth)
		prismaClient.(js|ts)             (if Prisma)
	prisma/schema.prisma               (if PostgreSQL/MySQL)
	.env.example

{{projectName}} placeholders are replaced automatically.

🧪 Scripts (Inside Generated Project)

| Script | JS Template | TS Template | | ------ | ----------- | ----------- | | dev | nodemon server.js | nodemon --watch src --exec ts-node src/server.ts | | build | (n/a) | tsc | | start | node server.js | node dist/server.js | | prisma (added) | – | prisma generate (if Prisma DB chosen) |

🔐 Authentication (Optional)

Adds:

• authController (register + login)
• authMiddleware (JWT verification)
• User model (Mongoose) OR schema comment (Prisma) OR in‑memory fallback
• Routes mounted at /api/auth:
  • POST /api/auth/register – { email, password }
  • POST /api/auth/login – { email, password } → { token }

JWT secret: JWT_SECRET (from .env).

Prisma users: add to prisma/schema.prisma before migrations:

model User {
	id        String   @id @default(cuid())
	email     String   @unique
	password  String
	createdAt DateTime @default(now())
}

🗄️ Database Layers

| Choice | Added Artifacts | Notes | | ------ | --------------- | ----- | | MongoDB | src/models/db.(js|ts) + Mongoose user model (if auth) | Connect via DATABASE_URL or defaults to local instance | | PostgreSQL / MySQL | prisma/schema.prisma + src/prismaClient.(js|ts) | Needs DATABASE_URL and npx prisma migrate dev (after adding models) | | None | In‑memory placeholder | Suitable only for demos/tests |

🔧 Environment Variables

Generated .env.example (copy to .env):

PORT=3000
JWT_SECRET=change_me
DATABASE_URL=your_connection_string

Mongo default (if not provided): mongodb://localhost:27017/<project>

🧩 Non‑Interactive Flags

Flags map to prompts:

• --language <javascript|typescript>
• --database <mongodb|postgresql|mysql|none>
• --auth / --no-auth
• --name <pkg-name> (sets project & package name)
• -y, --yes (skip all prompts)

Example:

npx ignite-backend new-service --yes --language ts --database mongodb --auth

🛠️ After Generation (Checklist)

1. cd <project>
2. npm install
3. If Prisma: add models → npx prisma migrate dev
4. Create .env from .env.example
5. Run dev server: npm run dev

🧪 Testing the CLI Locally (Contributors)

From this repository root:

npm pack --dry-run        # Inspect contents
npm link                  # Optional: global link
ignite-backend my-test-api

🚢 Release Channels

| Channel | Tag | Install Command | | ------- | --- | --------------- | | Stable | latest | npm create ignite-backend@latest | | Beta | beta | npm create ignite-backend@beta |

Publish beta:

npm run release:beta

Promote to stable (example):

npm version 1.0.0
npm publish --access public

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork & branch: feat/<short-desc>
2. Make changes + add/adjust template files
3. Update docs if behavior changes
4. Run local smoke test (see above)
5. Open PR with clear summary

Ideas / Issues: use the GitHub issue tracker.

❓ Troubleshooting

| Problem | Cause | Fix | | ------- | ----- | --- | | Command not found after global install | PATH / npm link issue | Use npx or reinstall with latest Node LTS | | Prisma errors | Missing model / env var | Add User model & set DATABASE_URL | | Mongo connection refused | Service not running | Start local Mongo or supply connection string | | JWT always invalid | Wrong secret mismatch | Ensure same JWT_SECRET for issuing & verifying |

📄 License

MIT © Contributors

Enjoy building. If this saves you time, consider starring the repo to help others discover it.