init-backend-project

Create clean, runnable backend starter projects for Node.js, Express, Fastify, and NestJS with one interactive CLI.

init-backend-project generates real starter code with framework-specific app startup, a health endpoint, environment config, consistent response helpers, error handling, and optional setup for Docker Compose, testing, linting, validation, authentication, databases, and ORMs.

Requirements

• Node.js 18.17 or newer
• npm, yarn, or pnpm

Quick Start

Create a backend project:

npx init-backend-project my-api

Open it and run the server:

cd my-api
npm install
npm run dev

If you choose automatic dependency installation during setup, you can skip npm install.

Open the health check:

http://localhost:3000/health

Example response:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "API is running",
  "timestamp": "2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z"
}

Usage

Run with npx:

npx init-backend-project my-api

Run the interactive prompt without a project name:

npx init-backend-project

Use npm exec:

npm exec init-backend-project my-api

Install globally if you generate projects often:

npm install -g init-backend-project
init-backend-project my-api

Note: npm install init-backend-project only installs this package into the current project. To create a new backend app, use npx, npm exec, or the global CLI command.

What It Generates

Every generated project includes a practical backend foundation:

• App and server entry points
• Environment configuration
• Health check endpoint
• Centralized error and not-found handling
• Consistent JSON response helpers
• Feature-based module structure
• Generated .env.example, .gitignore, package.json, and README.md

Express, Fastify, and raw Node.js projects use this structure:

project-name/
  src/
    common/
      http/        # Express and Node.js response helpers
      plugins/     # Fastify app plugins
      middlewares/ # Express and Node.js middleware
      utils/
    config/
    modules/
      health/
    app.js or app.ts
    server.js or server.ts
  .env.example
  .gitignore
  package.json
  README.md

TypeScript projects also include:

tsconfig.json
src/types/

NestJS projects use a Nest-style structure:

project-name/
  src/
    common/
      decorators/
      dto/
      filters/
      interceptors/
    config/
    modules/
      health/
    app.module.ts
    main.ts
  tsconfig.json
  package.json
  README.md

Supported Choices

Frameworks:

• Node.js
• Express
• Fastify
• NestJS

Languages:

• JavaScript
• TypeScript

Package managers:

• npm
• yarn
• pnpm

Databases:

• None
• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• MongoDB
• Redis

ORMs:

• None
• Prisma
• TypeORM
• Mongoose

Authentication:

• None
• JWT Auth
• Session Auth

API documentation:

• None
• Swagger / OpenAPI

Validation:

• None
• Zod
• Joi
• class-validator for NestJS

Testing:

• None
• Jest
• Vitest

Optional tools:

• Docker and Docker Compose
• ESLint and Prettier
• Git initialization
• Dependency installation

Package Manager Commands

Run the generated project with your selected package manager:

npm run dev

yarn dev

pnpm dev

When the server starts, the terminal prints the framework and health check URLs:

[my-api] Express API running on http://localhost:3000
[my-api] Health check: http://localhost:3000/health

Build TypeScript projects:

npm run build

NestJS projects also support the familiar alias:

npm run start:dev

Example CLI Flow

$ npx init-backend-project
 _       _ _     _                _                  _                   _           _
(_)_ __ (_) |_  | |__   __ _  ___| | _____ _ __   __| |  _ __  _ __ ___ (_) ___  ___| |_
| | '_ \| | __| | '_ \ / _` |/ __| |/ / _ \ '_ \ / _` | | '_ \| '__/ _ \| |/ _ \/ __| __|
| | | | | | |_  | |_) | (_| | (__|   <  __/ | | | (_| | | |_) | | | (_) | |  __/ (__| |_
|_|_| |_|_|\__| |_.__/ \__,_|\___|_|\_\___|_| |_|\__,_| | .__/|_|  \___// |\___|\___|\__|
                                                        |_|          |__/

? Project name: my-api
? Backend framework:
  1. Node.js
> 2. Express
  3. Fastify
  4. NestJS
? Language:
> 1. JavaScript
  2. TypeScript
? Package manager:
> 1. npm
  2. yarn
  3. pnpm
? Database:
> 1. None
  2. PostgreSQL
  3. MySQL
  4. MongoDB
  5. Redis
? ORM:
> 1. None
? Authentication:
> 1. None
  2. JWT Auth
  3. Session Auth
? API documentation:
> 1. None
  2. Swagger / OpenAPI
? Validation:
> 1. None
  2. Zod
  3. Joi
? Docker support?
  Yes
> No
? Code quality tools:
> ESLint + Prettier
  None
? Testing framework:
> 1. None
  2. Jest
  3. Vitest
? Git repository?
  Yes
> No
? Install dependencies?
> Yes
  No
✔ Dependencies installed.

✔ Project created successfully: my-api

Next steps
----------
    cd my-api

Run locally
-----------
    npm run dev

Endpoints
---------
    Local API:     http://localhost:3000
    Health check:  http://localhost:3000/health

───────────────────────────────────────────────
init-backend-project — created by Choch Kimhour

License

MIT License.

Copyright (c) 2026 Choch Kimhour.