express-web-tools

express-web-tools

A lightweight framework-style library for Express applications using Mongoose. It provides reusable classes and utilities to enforce a consistent API structure, automate CRUD operations, and significantly reduce boilerplate code.

Key Features

• Configurable Mongoose Models: Automatically add audit fields, soft-delete logic, and multitenancy support.
• Automated CRUD: Generate routes and controllers with built-in validation and metadata tracking.
• Modern Performance: Uses structuredClone for deep object mutation.
• Flexible Logging: File-system logger with support for multiple instances and custom paths.
• Event Management: Application-wide or private async event streams.
• JWT Helpers: Simple, configurable token generation and verification.

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Usage

1. MongooseModel & Configuration

Define your schemas with automatic audit and multitenancy support.

import { MongooseModel } from 'express-web-tools';
import { Schema, Document } from 'mongoose';

interface IUser extends Document {
    username: string;
}

const userSchema = new Schema({ username: String });

// Configuration options (All default to true)
const config = {
    softDelete: true,    // Adds isDeleted flag and deleted metadata
    multitenant: true,   // Adds origin field for data isolation
    auditEnforce: true,  // Adds created/updated (By/From) metadata
    timestamps: true     // Enables native Mongoose timestamps
};

const userModelWrapper = new MongooseModel<IUser>('User', userSchema, null, null, config);
const User = userModelWrapper.model();

2. CrudController

The controller automatically adapts its logic based on the MongooseModel configuration.

import { CrudController } from 'express-web-tools';
import { User } from './models/User';

class UserController extends CrudController<IUser> {
    constructor() {
        super(User);
    }
    // Logic for 'origin' and 'user._id' validation is handled automatically
}

3. CrudRoutes

Generate standard RESTful endpoints for your controller with optional global and local middlewares.

import { CrudRoutes, CrudMiddleware } from 'express-web-tools';
import userController from './controllers/UserController';
import { authenticate, authorize, validateUser } from './middleware';

const middleware: CrudMiddleware = {
    global: [authenticate],     // Applied to all routes
    add: [validateUser],         // Specific to POST /users
    delete: [authorize('admin')] // Specific to DELETE /users/:id
};

const userRoutes = new CrudRoutes('/users', userController, middleware);

// Dynamic middleware addition
userRoutes.addMiddleware('global', [anotherMiddleware]);
userRoutes.addMiddleware('add', validatePayload);

const router = userRoutes.publish();

// Routes generated:
// GET    /users     -> [authenticate] -> List all
// POST   /users     -> [authenticate, validateUser] -> Create new
// DELETE /users/:id -> [authenticate, authorize('admin')] -> Delete

4. EventStream

Singleton or instance-based event emitter with async support.

import { eventStream, EventStream } from 'express-web-tools';

// Using the global singleton
eventStream.onEvent('log', async (data) => console.log(data));
eventStream.emitEvent('log', 'Hello World');

// Or create a private stream
const privateBus = new EventStream();

5. FSLogger

Manage application logs with ease.

import { fsLogger, FSLogger } from 'express-web-tools';

// Global logger (uses process.env.logpath or ./logs)
fsLogger.Log('Action performed', { userId: 1 });

// Custom logger
const dbLogger = new FSLogger('./logs/db.log');

6. Token (JWT)

Configure your secret once and use it everywhere.

import { Token } from 'express-web-tools';

Token.config('your-super-secret-key');

const token = Token.generate({ id: '123' });
const payload = Token.verify(token);

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API Reference Summary

ExpressServer

A wrapper to simplify Express app setup, including middleware, routing, and view engines.

import { ExpressServer } from 'express-web-tools';

const server = new ExpressServer();
server.views('twig', './views');
server.addMiddleware(express.json());
server.addRoute('/api/v1', apiRouter);
server.start(3000);

API

Static helpers for standard Express responses and a built-in HTTP/HTTPS client.

// Response helpers
API.json(res, { foo: 'bar' }, 'Success message', 200);
API.html(res, '<h1>Hello</h1>');

// HTTP Client
const client = new API({ baseURL: 'https://api.example.com', useHttps: true });
const { status, data } = await client.get('/users');

MongooseModel (Advanced)

Easily add hooks, virtuals, and static methods to your models.

const userModelWrapper = new MongooseModel<IUser>('User', userSchema);
userModelWrapper.addPreHook('save', function(next) {
    console.log('Saving user...');
    next();
});
userModelWrapper.addStatic('findByUsername', function(username) {
    return this.findOne({ username });
});
const User = userModelWrapper.model();

Other Utilities

• Mutate: High-performance deep cloning using structuredClone.
• HttpError: Standardized error class for throwing HTTP-specific status codes.
• asyncHandler: Middleware to wrap async routes and catch errors automatically.
• configTest: Utility to validate presence of essential environment variables on startup.

configTest

Ensure your application has all required environment variables before starting.

import { configTest } from 'express-web-tools';

// Throws a descriptive error if variables are missing
configTest(['MONGO_URI', 'JWT_SECRET', 'PORT']);

Installation

npm install express-web-tools

Note: express and mongoose are listed as peer dependencies. Ensure they are installed in your project:

npm install express mongoose

Mongoose Compatibility

The library automatically handles version differences for Mongoose. For Mongoose v6 and above, it uses returnDocument: 'after' for update operations, while falling back to new: true for older versions, ensuring you always receive the updated document.

License

ISC