Initex

Initex is a simple, interactive CLI tool to scaffold an opinionated Express-based backend project using either guided prompts or reusable preset files.

It exists because backend setup is a boring loop of the same decisions every time. Runtime. Database. Auth. Cache. Tooling. Initex standardizes those choices, makes them explicit, and lets you reuse them without copy-pasting your soul between projects.

Why Initex Exists

Setting up backend projects repeatedly involves answering the same questions:

• Which runtime?
• Which database and ORM?
• Rate limiting?
• Linting and formatting?
• Logging?
• Security headers?
• Auth or no auth?
• Cache?
• SMTP?
• Sockets?
• Tooling?

Initex solves this by:

• Making those decisions explicit
• Allowing them to be saved and reused
• Cutting setup time without hiding configuration behind magic

Minimal defaults. Everything else is opt-in.

Features

• Interactive and preset-based project generation
• First-class preset file support
• Database, cache, auth, SMTP, and socket configuration
• Supports modern runtimes and package managers
• Explicit configuration, no hidden behavior

Non-goals

Initex does not:

• Hide infrastructure decisions
• Generate frontend code
• Abstract away your business logic

What It Generates

• See Generated Project Structure for details.

Requirements

• Node.js

• A supported runtime:

  • Node.js
  • Bun
  • Deno

• A package manager:

  • npm
  • pnpm
  • yarn
  • bun
  • deno

(Your config decides which one actually matters.)

Installation

Install globally

npm install -g initex

Run without installing

npx initex

Quick Start

Interactive setup

initex my-app

If no options are provided, Initex runs in interactive mode.

Preset-based setup

initex --preset ./initex.preset.json

Preset File Support

Initex supports preset files to fully automate project generation.

Presets let you:

• Reuse backend decisions across projects
• Avoid interactive prompts
• Make infrastructure choices explicit and versionable
• Presets are supported in JSON and YAML formats

Example Preset

{
  "name": "myawesomeapp",
  "runtime": "bun",
  "packageManager": "bun",
  "db": {
    "enable": true,
    "provider": "postgresql",
    "connectionString": "postgres://postgres:password@localhost:5432/myawesomeapp",
    "orm": "drizzle",
    "name": "myawesomeapp"
  },
  "cache": {
    "enable": true,
    "service": "multi"
  },
  "auth": {
    "enable": true
  },
  "smtp": {
    "enable": true,
    "service": "gmail"
  },
  "git": true,
  "socket": true
}

See Preset File Schema for the full list of supported options and validation rules.

Generating a Preset

Generate a preset from an interactive run:

initex --generatePreset

Default output location

./<project-name>/.initex

Custom path

initex --generatePreset ./initex.preset.json

CLI Usage

initex [project-name] [options]

If no options are provided, Initex runs in interactive mode.

Flags

| Flag | Alias | Description | | ------------------ | ----- | -------------------------------------------- | | --mode | -m | Execution mode (start, test, test:bin) | | --name | -n | Project name | | --preset | -p | Use a preset file | | --generatePreset | -g | Generate a preset file | | --debug | -d | Print resolved CLI configuration |

Example Outputs

Add screenshots, CLI output snippets, or links to example repositories here.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a focused branch
3. Make changes with clear commits
4. Add tests where applicable
5. Open a pull request

Roadmap

2.1

• Improved OpenAPI documentation

2.2

• Idempotency support for critical APIs
• SQLite database support

2.3

• Admin authentication
• Updated RBAC model

2.4

• Valkey support for caching

Later versions

• BetterAuth integration
• AuthJS integration
• Clerk integration

FAQ

Q: Can presets be reused across projects? A: Yes. Presets are designed to be portable and reusable.

Q: Does Initex require Bun if runtime is set to bun? A: Yes. The selected runtime must be installed locally.

License

MIT License