get-express-starter

The last Express.js boilerplate you'll ever need.

A powerful, customizable CLI that scaffolds production-ready Express.js applications. Whether you prefer TypeScript or JavaScript, MongoDB or PostgreSQL, get-express-starter sets up a scalable architecture with best practices from day one.

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Key Features

• ✅ Choose between TypeScript or JavaScript
• ✅ Select your database: MongoDB or PostgreSQL
• ✅ JWT-based Authentication (login, register, logout)
• ✅ Email workflows: Verify email, Forgot/Reset password
• ✅ Role-based Access Control (RBAC)
• ✅ Centralized User Management System
• ✅ Zod-based Request Validation
• ✅ Built-in Pagination Utilities
• ✅ Security Best Practices (Helmet, CORS, sanitization)
• ✅ Versioned API Routes
• ✅ Winston Logging for errors & requests
• ✅ Centralized Config & ENV management
• ✅ Plop.js-based Code Generator (like NestJS CLI, but unopinionated!)
• ✅ Docker-Ready Setup with docker compose
• ✅ Dev-friendly tooling: Biome / ESLint + Prettier, Husky, lint-staged
• ✅ Supports ESM or CommonJS in JavaScript mode
• ✅ Customizable Templates for rapid feature/module generation

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Installation

npm install -g get-express-starter

Usage

get-express-starter

You'll be prompted to choose:

• Project name

• Language (TypeScript / JavaScript)

• Database (MongoDB / PostgreSQL)

• Code generator setup

Example

$ get-express-starter
✔ Project name: my-api
✔ Language: TypeScript
✔ Database: PostgreSQL

➡️ cd my-api
➡️ pnpm install
➡️ pnpm run dev
➡️ pnpm generate // For code generators

Project Templates

Depending on your choices, one of the following templates will be scaffolded:

• Express + MongoDB + TypeScript

• Express + PostgreSQL + TypeScript (Prisma)

• Express + PostgreSQL + TypeScript (Drizzle)

• Express + MongoDB + JavaScript

Code Generators

You’ll get built-in support for generating:

• Modules (routes, controllers, services)

• Models

• Middlewares

• Validators

• Utilities

pnpm generate

Docker Support

Each project comes with:

• Dockerfile

• docker-compose.yml

Start your app via Docker:

docker compose up --build

Linting & Formatting

You get a preconfigured dev experience:

• Biome (or ESLint + Prettier)

• Husky + lint-staged (pre-commit hooks)

Script examples:

pnpm lint      # Biome or ESLint
pnpm format    # Prettier or Biome

Developer Productivity (DX)

We include tools to make your daily coding faster.

1. Code Generators (Plop.js)

Don't copy-paste files to create a new API resource. Use the generator:

pnpm generate

It will ask what you want to create (Controller, Route, Service, Model) and generate the boilerplate code for you.

2. VS Code Snippets

Inside the .vscode folder of your generated project, we include custom snippets. Just start typing the prefix, and VS Code will handle the rest.

Example: Creating a Controller

Type exctrl and hit TAB:

// You type: exctrl

// It expands to:
const myController: RequestHandler = async (req, res) => {
  // Cursor lands here ready to code!
};

The Plugin System (New!)

Introducing plugins: instead of bloating the base templates, you can choose plugins to add powerful features to your starter project. Even if you forget to add a feature during setup, no problem—you can inject plugins into your existing project at any time.

The CLI intelligently analyzes your project structure (detecting TS vs JS) and injects code safely.

Command

npx get-express-starter add <plugin-name>

Available Plugins

Plugin	Command	Description
Cron Jobs	add cron	Adds node-cron setup, scheduled task architecture, and example jobs.
Redis	add redis	Configures a robust Redis caching layer and adds a separate Docker Compose file with RedisInsight for local inspection.

Plugin Example

cd my-super-api
npx get-express-starter add cron

This will install dependencies, create a src/jobs directory, and inject initialization code into your server entry point automatically.

This project is licensed under the MIT License © 2025 Muhammad Hassan