ts-node-init

A powerful CLI tool to bootstrap modern Node.js + TypeScript projects with Express.js and MongoDB support in seconds. Stop wasting time on configuration and start building features immediately.

✨ Features

• 🚀 Express.js + MongoDB - Full-stack REST API setup with modular architecture
• 📦 TypeScript - Preconfigured with strict mode and best practices
• 🎨 Code Quality - ESLint + Prettier integration for consistent code
• 🧪 Testing - Jest + ts-jest ready for TypeScript testing
• 📁 Clean Architecture - Organized modular folder structure (controller, service, routes, model)
• 🔧 Production Ready - Pino logger, error handling, and environment variables
• 🗄️ Database - Mongoose models with TypeScript types
• ⚡ Dev Experience - Hot reload with ts-node-dev
• 🛡️ Safe Operation - Prevents overwriting existing projects
• 🎯 Interactive Setup - Choose only the features you need
• 💨 Quick Mode - Skip prompts with -y flag

📦 Installation

Install globally via npm:

npm install -g ts-node-init

Or use directly with npx (no installation required):

npx ts-node-init my-project

🚀 Usage

Interactive Mode (Recommended)

ts-node-init my-project

You'll be asked to configure:

• ✅ Express.js setup
• ✅ MongoDB integration
• ✅ Prettier formatting
• ✅ ESLint linting
• ✅ .gitignore file

Quick Mode

Skip all prompts and create a full-featured project:

ts-node-init my-project -y
# or
ts-node-init my-project --yes

This creates a project with all features enabled (Express + MongoDB + Prettier + ESLint).

Initialize in Current Directory

ts-node-init .

Sets up the project in your current folder. Aborts if package.json exists to prevent overwriting.

📁 Project Structure

Full Stack Setup (Express + MongoDB)

my-project/
├── config/
│   └── default.ts              # Environment configuration
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts                # Application entry point
│   ├── shared/
│   │   └── utils/
│   │       ├── server.ts       # Express app setup
│   │       ├── connect.ts      # MongoDB connection
│   │       └── logger.ts       # Pino logger
│   └── modules/
│       └── user/               # Example user module
│           ├── controller/
│           │   └── user.controller.ts
│           ├── service/
│           │   └── user.service.ts
│           ├── routes/
│           │   └── user.routes.ts
│           └── model/
│               └── user.model.ts
├── .env                        # Environment variables
├── .env.example                # Environment template
├── .gitignore
├── .prettierrc                 # Prettier config (optional)
├── .eslintrc.json             # ESLint config (optional)
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── jest.config.json

Basic Setup (Node.js only)

my-project/
├── src/
│   └── app.ts                  # Sample TypeScript file
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── jest.config.json

🛠️ Available Scripts

Once your project is created:

npm run dev             # Start development with hot reload
npm run build           # Compile TypeScript to JavaScript
npm start               # Run production build
npm test                # Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:coverage   # Run tests with coverage
npm run format          # Format code with Prettier (if enabled)
npm run format:check    # Check code formatting (if enabled)
npm run lint            # Lint code with ESLint (if enabled)
npm run lint:fix        # Auto-fix linting issues (if enabled)

🎯 Quick Start Examples

Create a REST API

# Create project with Express + MongoDB
npx ts-node-init my-api -y

# Navigate and configure
cd my-api

# Update MONGO_URI in .env file
# Then start development
npm run dev

Server runs at http://localhost:3000 with:

• Health check: GET /health
• User routes: GET /api/user

Create a Simple Node.js App

# Create project (choose 'n' for Express)
npx ts-node-init my-app

# Start coding
cd my-app
npm run dev

⚙️ Configuration Details

TypeScript (tsconfig.json)

• Target: ES2020
• Module: CommonJS
• Module Resolution: Node
• Strict mode: Enabled
• Source folder: src/
• Output folder: build/
• JSON support: Enabled

Environment Variables (.env)

PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development
MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/your-database

Modular Architecture

Each module follows a clean separation of concerns:

• Controller - Handles HTTP requests/responses
• Service - Contains business logic
• Routes - Defines API endpoints
• Model - Mongoose schema and types

This structure makes it easy to:

• Add new features as modules
• Test components independently
• Scale your application
• Maintain clean code

📚 What Gets Installed

Production Dependencies

• express - Web framework (if selected)
• cors - CORS middleware (if Express selected)
• mongoose - MongoDB ODM (if MongoDB selected)
• dotenv - Environment variables
• pino - Fast logger (if MongoDB selected)
• pino-pretty - Pretty logs (if MongoDB selected)
• dayjs - Date manipulation (if MongoDB selected)

Development Dependencies

• typescript - TypeScript compiler
• ts-node-dev - Development server with auto-reload
• @types/node - Node.js type definitions
• @types/express - Express type definitions (if selected)
• @types/cors - CORS type definitions (if selected)
• jest - Testing framework
• ts-jest - TypeScript support for Jest
• @types/jest - Jest type definitions
• prettier - Code formatter (if selected)
• eslint - Code linter (if selected)
• @typescript-eslint/parser - TypeScript parser (if selected)
• @typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin - TypeScript rules (if selected)

💡 Use Cases

Perfect for:

• ✅ REST API development
• ✅ Microservices architecture
• ✅ Backend applications with MongoDB
• ✅ Express.js projects
• ✅ Full-stack applications
• ✅ CLI tools and scripts
• ✅ TypeScript learning projects
• ✅ Teams wanting consistent structure
• ✅ Rapid prototyping
• ✅ Hackathons and MVPs

🔧 Advanced Usage

Adding New Modules

Follow the existing pattern to add new modules:

mkdir -p src/modules/posts/{controller,service,routes,model}

Then create your controller, service, routes, and model files following the user module pattern.

Custom Configuration

The generated config/default.ts can be extended with your own environment variables and settings.

Database Connection

MongoDB connection happens automatically on server start. Update MONGO_URI in .env to point to your database.

📋 Requirements

• Node.js v14 or higher (v16+ recommended)
• npm v6 or higher (v8+ recommended)
• MongoDB (optional, only if using MongoDB features)

🤝 Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome! Visit the GitHub repository to contribute.

Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/abdulwarith001/ts-node-init.git

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Test locally
npm link
ts-node-init test-project

📄 License

MIT

👨‍💻 Author

Enigmare

• GitHub: @abdulwarith001
• X (Twitter): @enigmare_

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with ❤️ for developers who value their time.

Stop configuring. Start building. 🚀

Save hours of setup time and jump straight into development with production-ready project structure.