setup-node-boilerplate/index.js

A CLI tool to generate a standard Node.js + Express project structure instantly.

#!/usr/bin/env node

const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');

const projectName = process.argv[2];

if (!projectName) {
  console.error('❌ Please provide a project name: setup-node-boilerplate my-app');
  process.exit(1);
}

const root = path.join(process.cwd(), projectName);

const folders = [
  'config',
  'controllers',
  'models',
  'routes',
  'middleware',
  'utils',
  'logs',
  'public'
];

console.log(`🚀 Creating Node.js boilerplate at ${root}`);

// 1️⃣ Make root
fs.mkdirSync(root, { recursive: true });

// 2️⃣ Make folders
folders.forEach(folder => {
  fs.mkdirSync(path.join(root, folder), { recursive: true });
});

// 3️⃣ Create .gitignore with content
fs.writeFileSync(
  path.join(root, '.gitignore'),
  `node_modules/
.env
logs/
`);

// 4️⃣ Create .env with content
fs.writeFileSync(
  path.join(root, '.env'),
  `PORT=5000
`);

// 5️⃣ Create server.js with content
fs.writeFileSync(
  path.join(root, 'server.js'),
  `const express = require('express');
const dotenv = require('dotenv').config();
const cors = require('cors');

const app = express();

app.use(cors());
app.use(express.json());

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('✅ Server is running!');
});

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 5000;

app.listen(PORT, () => console.log(\`🚀 Server running on http://localhost:\${PORT}\`));
`);

// 6️⃣ Create package.json with content
fs.writeFileSync(
  path.join(root, 'package.json'),
  `{
  "name": "${projectName}",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "server.js",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node server.js",
    "dev": "nodemon server.js"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.18.2",
    "dotenv": "^16.3.1",
    "cors": "^2.8.5"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "nodemon": "^3.0.0"
  }
}
`);

// 7️⃣ Create README.md with content
fs.writeFileSync(
  path.join(root, 'README.md'),
  `# ${projectName}

✅ Ready Node.js boilerplate with Express server.

## How to run

1. npm install
2. npm run dev
3. Visit: http://localhost:5000
`
);

console.log('✅ Done! Boilerplate generated successfully!');