Express API Scaffold

Generates a complete Express.js REST API boilerplate with TypeScript, authentication, database integration, and testing setup.

What This Command Does

Generated Project:

• Express.js with TypeScript
• JWT authentication
• Database integration (Prisma or TypeORM)
• Input validation (Zod)
• Error handling middleware
• Rate limiting & security (Helmet, CORS)
• Testing setup (Jest + Supertest)
• Docker configuration
• Example CRUD endpoints

Output: Complete API project ready for development

Time: 5-10 minutes

---

Usage

# Generate full Express API
/express-api-scaffold "Task Management API"

# Shortcut
/eas "E-commerce API"

# With specific database
/eas "Blog API" --database postgresql

# With authentication type
/eas "Social API" --auth jwt --database mongodb

---

Example Output

Input:

/eas "Task Management API" --database postgresql

Generated Project Structure:

task-api/
├── src/
│   ├── controllers/        # Request handlers
│   │   ├── auth.controller.ts
│   │   └── task.controller.ts
│   ├── middleware/         # Express middleware
│   │   ├── auth.middleware.ts
│   │   ├── error.middleware.ts
│   │   └── validation.middleware.ts
│   ├── models/            # Database models
│   │   └── task.model.ts
│   ├── routes/            # API routes
│   │   ├── auth.routes.ts
│   │   └── task.routes.ts
│   ├── services/          # Business logic
│   │   ├── auth.service.ts
│   │   └── task.service.ts
│   ├── utils/             # Utilities
│   │   ├── jwt.util.ts
│   │   └── password.util.ts
│   ├── config/            # Configuration
│   │   └── database.ts
│   ├── types/             # TypeScript types
│   │   └── express.d.ts
│   ├── app.ts             # Express app setup
│   └── server.ts          # Server entry point
├── tests/
│   ├── auth.test.ts
│   └── task.test.ts
├── prisma/
│   └── schema.prisma      # Database schema
├── .env.example
├── .gitignore
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── jest.config.js
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose.yml
└── README.md

---

Generated Files

1. src/server.ts (Entry Point)

import app from './app'
import { config } from './config'

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000

app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`)
  console.log(`Environment: ${process.env.NODE_ENV}`)
})

2. src/app.ts (Express Setup)

import express, { Application } from 'express'
import cors from 'cors'
import helmet from 'helmet'
import morgan from 'morgan'
import rateLimit from 'express-rate-limit'

import authRoutes from './routes/auth.routes'
import taskRoutes from './routes/task.routes'
import { errorHandler } from './middleware/error.middleware'
import { notFoundHandler } from './middleware/notFound.middleware'

const app: Application = express()

// Security middleware
app.use(helmet())
app.use(cors({
  origin: process.env.ALLOWED_ORIGINS?.split(',') || '*',
  credentials: true
}))

// Rate limiting
const limiter = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
  max: 100, // 100 requests per window
  message: 'Too many requests, please try again later'
})
app.use('/api/', limiter)

// Parsing middleware
app.use(express.json())
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true }))

// Logging
if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'test') {
  app.use(morgan('combined'))
}

// Health check
app.get('/health', (req, res) => {
  res.json({ status: 'ok', timestamp: new Date().toISOString() })
})

// Routes
app.use('/api/auth', authRoutes)
app.use('/api/tasks', taskRoutes)

// Error handling
app.use(notFoundHandler)
app.use(errorHandler)

export default app

3. src/controllers/auth.controller.ts

import { Request, Response, NextFunction } from 'express'
import { AuthService } from '../services/auth.service'
import { ApiError } from '../utils/ApiError'

const authService = new AuthService()

export class AuthController {
  async register(req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) {
    try {
      const { email, password, name } = req.body

      const result = await authService.register({ email, password, name })

      res.status(201).json({
        data: {
          user: result.user,
          token: result.token
        }
      })
    } catch (error) {
      next(error)
    }
  }

  async login(req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) {
    try {
      const { email, password } = req.body

      const result = await authService.login(email, password)

      res.json({
        data: {
          user: result.user,
          token: result.token
        }
      })
    } catch (error) {
      next(error)
    }
  }

  async getProfile(req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) {
    try {
      const userId = req.user!.id

      const user = await authService.getUserById(userId)

      res.json({ data: user })
    } catch (error) {
      next(error)
    }
  }
}

4. src/middleware/auth.middleware.ts

import { Request, Response, NextFunction } from 'express'
import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken'
import { ApiError } from '../utils/ApiError'

interface JwtPayload {
  userId: string
  email: string
}

declare global {
  namespace Express {
    interface Request {
      user?: {
        id: string
        email: string
      }
    }
  }
}

export function authenticate(req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) {
  try {
    const authHeader = req.headers.authorization

    if (!authHeader?.startsWith('Bearer ')) {
      throw new ApiError(401, 'No token provided')
    }

    const token = authHeader.split(' ')[1]

    const decoded = jwt.verify(
      token,
      process.env.JWT_SECRET!
    ) as JwtPayload

    req.user = {
      id: decoded.userId,
      email: decoded.email
    }

    next()
  } catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof jwt.JsonWebTokenError) {
      next(new ApiError(401, 'Invalid token'))
    } else {
      next(error)
    }
  }
}

5. src/middleware/error.middleware.ts

import { Request, Response, NextFunction } from 'express'
import { ApiError } from '../utils/ApiError'
import { ZodError } from 'zod'

export function errorHandler(
  err: Error,
  req: Request,
  res: Response,
  next: NextFunction
) {
  console.error('Error:', err)

  // Handle known API errors
  if (err instanceof ApiError) {
    return res.status(err.statusCode).json({
      error: {
        code: err.name,
        message: err.message,
        ...(err.details && { details: err.details })
      }
    })
  }

  // Handle validation errors (Zod)
  if (err instanceof ZodError) {
    return res.status(400).json({
      error: {
        code: 'VALIDATION_ERROR',
        message: 'Validation failed',
        details: err.errors.map(e => ({
          field: e.path.join('.'),
          message: e.message
        }))
      }
    })
  }

  // Handle unexpected errors
  res.status(500).json({
    error: {
      code: 'INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR',
      message: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production'
        ? 'An unexpected error occurred'
        : err.message
    }
  })
}

6. src/routes/task.routes.ts

import { Router } from 'express'
import { TaskController } from '../controllers/task.controller'
import { authenticate } from '../middleware/auth.middleware'
import { validate } from '../middleware/validation.middleware'
import { createTaskSchema, updateTaskSchema } from '../schemas/task.schema'

const router = Router()
const taskController = new TaskController()

// All routes require authentication
router.use(authenticate)

router.get('/', taskController.list)
router.post('/', validate(createTaskSchema), taskController.create)
router.get('/:id', taskController.getById)
router.patch('/:id', validate(updateTaskSchema), taskController.update)
router.delete('/:id', taskController.delete)

export default router

7. src/services/task.service.ts

import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'
import { ApiError } from '../utils/ApiError'

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

export class TaskService {
  async create(userId: string, data: { title: string; description?: string }) {
    return await prisma.task.create({
      data: {
        ...data,
        userId
      }
    })
  }

  async findAll(userId: string) {
    return await prisma.task.findMany({
      where: { userId },
      orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' }
    })
  }

  async findById(id: string, userId: string) {
    const task = await prisma.task.findUnique({
      where: { id }
    })

    if (!task) {
      throw new ApiError(404, 'Task not found')
    }

    if (task.userId !== userId) {
      throw new ApiError(403, 'Access denied')
    }

    return task
  }

  async update(id: string, userId: string, data: Partial<{ title: string; description: string; completed: boolean }>) {
    await this.findById(id, userId) // Check ownership

    return await prisma.task.update({
      where: { id },
      data
    })
  }

  async delete(id: string, userId: string) {
    await this.findById(id, userId) // Check ownership

    await prisma.task.delete({
      where: { id }
    })
  }
}

8. prisma/schema.prisma (Database Schema)

generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
}

model User {
  id        String   @id @default(uuid())
  email     String   @unique
  password  String
  name      String
  tasks     Task[]
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())
  updatedAt DateTime @updatedAt

  @@map("users")
}

model Task {
  id          String   @id @default(uuid())
  title       String
  description String?
  completed   Boolean  @default(false)
  userId      String
  user        User     @relation(fields: [userId], references: [id], onDelete: Cascade)
  createdAt   DateTime @default(now())
  updatedAt   DateTime @updatedAt

  @@index([userId])
  @@map("tasks")
}

9. tests/task.test.ts (Integration Tests)

import request from 'supertest'
import app from '../src/app'
import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

describe('Task API', () => {
  let authToken: string
  let userId: string

  beforeAll(async () => {
    // Create test user and get token
    const res = await request(app)
      .post('/api/auth/register')
      .send({
        email: '[email protected]',
        password: 'password123',
        name: 'Test User'
      })

    authToken = res.body.data.token
    userId = res.body.data.user.id
  })

  afterAll(async () => {
    // Cleanup
    await prisma.task.deleteMany({ where: { userId } })
    await prisma.user.delete({ where: { id: userId } })
    await prisma.$disconnect()
  })

  describe('POST /api/tasks', () => {
    it('should create a new task', async () => {
      const res = await request(app)
        .post('/api/tasks')
        .set('Authorization', `Bearer ${authToken}`)
        .send({
          title: 'Test Task',
          description: 'Test description'
        })

      expect(res.status).toBe(201)
      expect(res.body.data).toHaveProperty('id')
      expect(res.body.data.title).toBe('Test Task')
    })

    it('should require authentication', async () => {
      const res = await request(app)
        .post('/api/tasks')
        .send({ title: 'Test' })

      expect(res.status).toBe(401)
    })
  })

  describe('GET /api/tasks', () => {
    it('should list user tasks', async () => {
      const res = await request(app)
        .get('/api/tasks')
        .set('Authorization', `Bearer ${authToken}`)

      expect(res.status).toBe(200)
      expect(Array.isArray(res.body.data)).toBe(true)
    })
  })
})

10. package.json

{
  "name": "task-api",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "ts-node-dev --respawn --transpile-only src/server.ts",
    "build": "tsc",
    "start": "node dist/server.js",
    "test": "jest --coverage",
    "lint": "eslint src/**/*.ts",
    "format": "prettier --write \"src/**/*.ts\"",
    "db:migrate": "prisma migrate dev",
    "db:push": "prisma db push",
    "db:generate": "prisma generate"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.18.2",
    "cors": "^2.8.5",
    "helmet": "^7.1.0",
    "express-rate-limit": "^7.1.5",
    "morgan": "^1.10.0",
    "bcrypt": "^5.1.1",
    "jsonwebtoken": "^9.0.2",
    "zod": "^3.22.4",
    "@prisma/client": "^5.8.0",
    "dotenv": "^16.3.1"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
    "@types/node": "^20.10.6",
    "@types/cors": "^2.8.17",
    "@types/morgan": "^1.9.9",
    "@types/bcrypt": "^5.0.2",
    "@types/jsonwebtoken": "^9.0.5",
    "@types/jest": "^29.5.11",
    "@types/supertest": "^6.0.2",
    "typescript": "^5.3.3",
    "ts-node-dev": "^2.0.0",
    "jest": "^29.7.0",
    "ts-jest": "^29.1.1",
    "supertest": "^6.3.3",
    "prisma": "^5.8.0",
    "eslint": "^8.56.0",
    "prettier": "^3.1.1"
  }
}

---

Features

Security:

• Helmet.js for HTTP headers
• CORS with configurable origins
• Rate limiting (100 req/15min)
• JWT authentication
• Password hashing (bcrypt)
• Input validation (Zod)

Database:

• Prisma ORM with TypeScript
• Automatic migrations
• Type-safe queries
• Supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite

Testing:

• Jest + Supertest
• Integration tests
• Coverage reporting
• Test database isolation

Development:

• Hot reload (ts-node-dev)
• TypeScript with strict mode
• ESLint + Prettier
• Environment variables

Production:

• Docker support
• Health check endpoint
• Error logging
• Graceful shutdown

---

Getting Started

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

2. Configure environment:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your database URL and secrets

3. Run database migrations:

npm run db:migrate

4. Start development server:

npm run dev

5. Run tests:

npm test

---

Related Commands

• /fastapi-scaffold - Generate FastAPI boilerplate
• Backend Architect (agent) - Architecture review
• API Builder (agent) - API design guidance

---

Build production-ready APIs. Ship faster. Scale confidently.