MERN-CLI-Gen

A powerful, production-ready CLI tool to scaffold feature-rich MERN stack projects in seconds.

MERN-CLI-Gen takes the pain out of starting a new full-stack project. It generates a complete, secure, and scalable architecture with your choice of language, database, authentication, and payment integration.

Features

• Full MERN Stack — Integrated MongoDB/PostgreSQL, Express, React, and Node.js.
• TypeScript First — Strict TypeScript configuration across the entire stack.
• Advanced Authentication — Multiple options: JWT, Sessions, or Passport (Local + Google + GitHub).
• Payment Integration — Ready-to-use Stripe and Paystack providers with webhook handling.
• Modern Frontend — React 18+ powered by Vite or Next.js, with Tailwind CSS v4 pre-configured.
• CI/CD Built-in — Automated GitHub Actions for testing, linting, and Docker image deployment.
• Docker Powered — Production-ready multi-stage Dockerfiles and docker-compose.
• Monorepo Architecture — Clean separation of concerns with client, server, and optional shared workspaces.
• Security by Design — Helmet, CORS, Rate Limiting, and Zod request validation included.

Prerequisites

• Node.js: v18.0.0 or higher
• npm: v9.0.0 or higher

Installation

# Using npx (recommended - run without installing)
# With project name provided
npx mern-cli-gen@latest create my-app

# Without project name (will prompt for it)
npx mern-cli-gen@latest create

# Global installation
npm install -g mern-cli-gen
mern-cli-gen create my-app
# or
mern-cli-gen create  # will prompt for project name

Note: The @latest tag is optional when using npx - it will use the latest version by default.

Quick Start

1. Scaffold your project:

   # With project name
   npx mern-cli-gen@latest create my-awesome-app
   
   # Or without project name (will prompt)
   npx mern-cli-gen@latest create

   Follow the interactive prompts to configure your project.

2. Setup Environment:

   cd my-awesome-app
   # .env file is auto-created from .env.example
   # Edit server/.env (or .env for backend-only) with your configuration

3. Launch Development Environment:

   npm run dev

Your application will be live at:

• Frontend: http://localhost:5173 (Vite) or http://localhost:3000 (Next.js)
• Backend: http://localhost:51210
• API Documentation: http://localhost:51210/api-docs

CLI Reference

mern-cli-gen create [project-name] [options]

Project Name:

• If provided: The CLI will use it directly
• If omitted: The CLI will prompt "What is your project name?" and validate the input

Core Options

| Option | Alias | Description | Default | |--------|-------|-------------|---------| | --mode | -m | full, frontend, backend | full | | --language | -l | typescript, javascript | typescript | | --frontend | -f | vite, nextjs | vite | | --database | -d | mongodb, postgresql | mongodb | | --orm | | mongoose, prisma, pg | Auto-detected | | --auth | -a | jwt, session, passport, none | jwt | | --payment | -p | stripe, paystack, mock, none | none | | --state | -s | zustand, redux, context, none | zustand | | --cicd | | github, none | none | | --no-docker | | Disable Docker configuration | false | | --no-tailwind| | Disable Tailwind CSS v4 | false | | --dry-run | | Preview generation without writing files | false |

Configuration Examples

# Enterprise setup: Next.js + PostgreSQL + Prisma + Passport + Stripe + GitHub Actions
mern-cli-gen create enterprise-app --frontend nextjs --database postgresql --orm prisma --auth passport --payment stripe --cicd github

# Fast Prototyping: Vite + MongoDB + Zustand
mern-cli-gen create rapid-app --state zustand --auth jwt

# Backend Only: Express API + PostgreSQL + node-postgres
mern-cli-gen create api-service --mode backend --database postgresql --orm pg

Architecture

The generated project uses a modern monorepo structure:

my-app/
├── client/              # React frontend (Vite/Next.js)
├── server/              # Node.js/Express API
├── shared/              # Shared types/utils (TypeScript only)
├── .github/             # CI/CD workflows (optional)
├── docker-compose.yml   # Multi-service orchestration
└── package.json         # Workspace management

Available Commands (Root)

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | npm run dev | Spins up both frontend and backend concurrently | | npm run build | Compiles both applications for production | | npm run test | Executes Jest suites for both services | | npm run lint | Runs ESLint across the entire workspace | | npm run docker:dev| Starts the environment using Docker Compose |

Error Recovery System ⚠️

If project generation fails at any stage, the CLI automatically cleans up all created files and directories to prevent partial or corrupted projects.

Automatic Cleanup

Cleanup is triggered when:

• Project generation fails
• Template rendering errors occur
• File system errors (permissions, disk space, etc.)
• User interruption (Ctrl+C)
• Validation failures after generation starts
• Dependency installation failures (if auto-install enabled)

What Gets Cleaned

• Entire project directory
• Partial files created before the error
• Partial directories created before the error

User Feedback

When cleanup occurs, you'll see:

• Clear error messages explaining what went wrong
• Detailed context about what was being created
• Helpful suggestions for resolving common issues
• Summary of what was cleaned (number of files/directories removed)

Note: If dependency installation fails, the project structure is preserved (as it was created successfully), and you'll receive instructions for manual installation.

Features

• Automatic Cleanup — Failed generations are automatically cleaned up
• Optimized Dependencies — Faster installation with only essential packages
• Interactive Prompts — User-friendly configuration flow
• Error Recovery — Comprehensive error handling with helpful suggestions

Contributing

We love community contributions! To get started:

1. Check out our Contributing Guide.
2. Report bugs or suggest features via GitHub Issues.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

If this tool made your life easier, please give it a star! It helps the project grow.