XMEN Framework

XMEN = Any-Frontend Mongo Express NodeJS

Website: xmen.io

Installation

XMEN requires MongoDB and NodeJS to be installed.

npm install xmenio

Project Configuration

You must define a project configuration file that is set up for XMEN. A default config file looks like this:

// config.js

var path = require('path'),
    rootPath = path.normalize(__dirname);

module.exports = {
    'development': {
        'DB': 'mongodb://localhost/xmen',       //MongoDB connection
        'PORT': 8000,                           //Port to run XMEN on
        'SECRET': 'xmen',                       //Provide a project secret
        'APP_ROOT': rootPath + '/app',          //Define a custom app path
        'STATIC_ROOT': rootPath + '/public',    //Define a custom static file path
        'PUBLIC_URL': 'http://localhost:8000',  //Public URL
        'INSTALLED_APPS': [                     //Apps to be registered
            'custom_app'
        ]
    }
};

These are the project settings that are available to any installed app. Extend this configuration to provide custom project values.

Start The App

XMEN needs to be bootstrapped and there is a simple way to start the server.

// app.js

var XMEN = require('xmenio'),
    config = require('./config.js');

XMEN.assemble(config); //This initializes the XMEN app

Simply run node app.js to get the server up and running.

Project Structure

XMEN is comprised of smaller individually accessible apps and app must be installed for it to be used.

Apps must be registered in INSTALLED_APPS. App names are based on the directory name.

Example project structure of using the config.js above:

project-name/
    app/
        custom_app/
            index.js
    config/
        config.js
    node_modules/
    app.js
    package.json

Models

Registering models within XMEN works by setting up a Mongoose Schema. These models are automatically loaded.

// custom_app/index.js
module.exports = {
    models: require('./models')
};

Routes

XMEN apps can provide custom routes that are structured specifically for each app. These routes are automatically loaded.

A routes module is passed the app, passport, and auth middleware.

// custom_app/index.js
module.exports = {
    routes: require('./routes')
};

Templates

XMEN templates are rendered from a registered app's templates/ directory.

Issues and Questions

Join in the conversation in Github Issues