vizz-init

Generate Express.js projects with folder structure and starter code.

Installation

You can use this package without installing it globally by using npx:

npx vizz-init [project-name]

Usage

Basic Usage

Create a new backend project in the current directory:

npx vizz-init

This will create a backend folder with the Express.js boilerplate.

Custom Project Name

Specify a custom project directory name:

npx vizz-init my-api-project

What it creates

When you run npx vizz-init, it will:

1. Create a new directory (default: backend or your specified name)
2. Initialize npm with npm init -y
3. Install dependencies: Express.js and dotenv
4. Generate a basic server.js file with:
   • Express app setup
   • JSON middleware
   • Environment variable configuration
   • Dynamic PORT from .env file
   • Basic "Hello, world!" route
5. Create environment files:
   • .env file with PORT=3000
   • .gitignore with Node.js exclusions
6. Create project structure with folders:
   • models/ - for database models
   • controllers/ - for route controllers
   • routes/ - for route definitions
   • middleware/ - for custom middleware
7. Update package.json with useful scripts:
   • npm start - runs the server with node
   • npm run dev - runs the server with nodemon for development

Generated Project Structure

your-project/
├── package.json
├── server.js
├── controllers/
├── middleware/
├── models/
└── routes/

Getting Started with Generated Project

After running vizz-init, navigate to your project and start development:

cd backend  # or your custom project name
npm run dev

Your server will be running at http://localhost:3000

Requirements

• Node.js (version 12 or higher)
• npm

License

MIT

Author

Visalan H

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues and enhancement requests!

*P.S. - This tool exists because I got tired of typing mkdir over and over again.