NodeJS + ExpressJS RESTful API Boilerplate

This project is still in early development!

This project is a boilerplate starting point for building RESTful APIs using NodeJS and ExpressJS, designed to offer flexibility, security, speed, and simplicity for your development process. It supports ECMAScript Modules (ESM) for modern JavaScript syntax, and comes with configurable logging via Pino or Morgan. Route handling is versatile, allowing for both traditional ExpressJS setup and dynamic importing of routes based on filenames.

The aim of this project is to save engineers hours to days of development time, enabling developers to concentrate on solving the specific problems they've been assigned, rather than getting bogged down by complex boilerplate and issues not directly related to the problem at hand.

Features

• ECMAScript Modules (ESM): Modern JavaScript syntax and module system.
• Built in internal health and status check endpoints that ensure the database connection pool remains connected, and that the server is able to respond to pings, and process HTTP requests.
• Authentication and Authorization using JWT (JSON Web Tokens).
• Easily add auth protection on selected routes or allow for unauthenticated access to public routes.
• Database Flexibility: Offers the ability to choose between MongoDB, PostgreSQL, or SQLite using dependency injection, providing versatility in database integration and management. Automatically installs and imports ONLY the dependencies you decide to use.
• Flexible Logging: Choose Pino or Morgan for your logging needs. Only installs and imports the selected logging dependency.
• Dynamic Route Importing: Automatically import routes from the routes directory based on filenames, or configure them traditionally.
• The API supports pagination, limits, selects, and various search options via HTTP query params that are automatically converted into queries for the configured database.
• Docker Ready: Containerize your API with ease for deployment and scalability. Supports graceful shutdowns.
• Kubernetes Compatible: Deploy on Kubernetes platforms like Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) without hassle.
• Kubernetes Cronjobs: Easily create, schedule, and execute kubernetes cronjobs.
• Google Cloud Automations: Scripts to allow the automatic creation of configurable uptime checks and service monitoring for deployed projects.

Optional Features

• Email Support: Select your email provider (GMAIL IMAP, SendGrid API, SMTP Server), and configure your API credentials and be ready to send emails within minutes.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (14 or later)
• npm

Installation

Clone the repository and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/aftaylor2/node-express-api-boilerplate.git
cd node-express-api-boilerplate
npm install

Configuration

Copy the .env.example file to .env and adjust the configuration to your needs.

Choosing Your Logger

By default, the API uses Pino for logging. To switch to Morgan, update the logger configuration in the config.js or .env file.

Running the API

To start the API server, run:

npm start

This will launch the API on http://localhost:3000 by default. Update the PORT environment variable to modify the port.

Adding Routes

Traditional ExpressJS Routes

Place your route files in the routes directory and manually import them in app.js or a dedicated router file.

Dynamic Route Importing

Simply add your route files to the routes directory. The naming convention is /[routeName].js, and the will be automatically imported and hosted as "/[routeName]".

Logging

Choose your logging engine by setting the LOGGER environment variable. Use the CLI to quickly change the variable for testing, or use the .env file to configure per environment. Choose pino if you require JSON logs.

Dockerization

A Dockerfile is provided for building a Docker image of your API:

docker build -t your-api-name .

Kubernetes

For deployment on Kubernetes, refer to the kubernetes.yml file for a basic deployment configuration. YAML files describing the service, deployment, ingress controller, and scheduled cronjobs are included. Automatic management of certificates is supported via certbot and configured to use LetsEncrypt TLS certificates by default.

Kustomize

The project supports kustomize to allow for easy templating of K8s YAML to support various environments such as development, staging, and production.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request with your improvements.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.