Prince Patel
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Create Express Setup

Interactive CLI tool for scaffolding Express.js projects with TypeScript or JavaScript support

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Project Overview

Create Express Setup is a powerful command-line interface tool that streamlines the process of creating Express.js applications. It provides an interactive setup with customizable options including TypeScript/JavaScript support, ESM/CommonJS module systems, and optional ESLint and Prettier configurations. The tool automatically generates a professional project structure with organized folders, environment variables setup, and pre-configured build and development scripts. It's designed for developers who want to quickly bootstrap Express.js projects with best practices and modern tooling.

Key Features
Interactive Project Setup: Guided CLI prompts for customizing project configuration
Language Choice: Select between TypeScript or JavaScript for your project
Module System Selection: Choose ESM (ECMAScript Modules) or CommonJS
Professional Folder Structure: Auto-generates organized directories (models, routes, controllers, middleware, config, utils, services, types)
TypeScript Support: Full TypeScript configuration with strict mode and type definitions
ESLint Integration: Optional ESLint v9 setup with flat config format and TypeScript support
Prettier Configuration: Optional code formatting with Prettier integration
Environment Variables: Automatic .env file creation with common configurations
Hot Reload Development: Pre-configured dev scripts with tsx, ts-node-dev, or nodemon
Build Scripts: Automated build process for TypeScript projects
Git Integration: Automatic .gitignore generation for Node.js projects
Dependency Auto-Install: Automatic installation of required dependencies
Multiple Package Managers: Support for npm, yarn, and pnpm
Source Directory Option: Choose to organize code in src/ folder or root level
CLI Options: Version check and help commands for easy usage
Challenges
  • Handling different module system configurations (ESM vs CommonJS)
  • Managing TypeScript path resolution and file extensions for ESM
  • Creating flexible templates that work with both TypeScript and JavaScript
  • Ensuring proper dependency installation order and compatibility
  • Supporting multiple package managers with different commands
Key Learnings
  • CLI development with interactive prompts using Inquirer.js
  • File system operations and template generation
  • Package manager detection and command execution
  • ESLint v9 flat config format and migration strategies
  • TypeScript configuration for different module systems
Project Highlights

Published on NPM as create-express-setup

Supports both TypeScript and JavaScript projects

Professional folder structure with best practices

ESLint v9 flat config with TypeScript support

Project Info
Team Size

1 Developer

My Role
Creator
Technologies
TypeScript
Node.js
Express
Inquirer.js
Chalk
Ora
Execa
fs-extra
ESLint
Prettier
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