servergen

ServerGen

ServerGen is an npm CLI for scaffolding Node.js and Express API projects with practical defaults: MVC-style folders, health checks, Docker files, ready-to-run npm scripts, optional Express views, and optional Mongoose/MongoDB config.

30-Second Quick Start

Requires Node.js 20 or higher.

npm create servergen@latest
cd my-api
npm start

In another terminal:

curl http://localhost:3000/health

Expected response:

{"status":"ok"}

The create flow guides you through the app name and options interactively, creates an Express app by default, and runs npm install in the generated app unless install is skipped.

Prefer the direct CLI path when you already know the app name and options:

npx servergen@latest my-api

What Gets Generated

Choice	Output
Default Express app	index.js, routes/index.js, controllers/, model/, views/, .env.example, Dockerfile, .dockerignore, .gitignore, generated README.md, package.json, and test/app.test.js.
--typescript	Express app with src/index.ts, src/routes/index.ts, tsconfig.json, test/app.test.ts, tsx for development, and dist/ output for production start.
--framework node	Plain Node.js HTTP server with /, /about, /contact, and /health, plus MVC folders, Docker files, .gitignore, generated README.md, and package.json.
--view ejs, pug, or hbs	Adds the selected Express view template and renders it from /.
--db	Adds Mongoose, config/mongoose.js, and MONGODB_URI in .env.example for Express apps.
--openapi	Adds docs/openapi.yaml, a static OpenAPI 3.0 spec for the generated Express routes.

Generated apps include npm start and npm run dev. Express apps also include npm test. TypeScript Express apps also include npm run build.

CLI Usage

servergen [options] [name]

name is the app directory to create. You can also pass it with --name.

Options

  -V, --version           output the version number
  -n, --name <name>       name of the app to create
  -f, --framework <type>  framework: express | node (default: "express")
  -v, --view <type>       view engine (express only): ejs | pug | hbs
  --db                    add Mongoose and a MongoDB config (express only)
  --openapi               generate an OpenAPI spec file (express only)
  --typescript            generate an Express TypeScript app
  -p, --port <number>     port for the generated app (1-65535) (default: "3000")
  --skip-install          skip the npm install step
  --debug                 enable debug logging
  -h, --help              display help for command

Examples

npm create servergen@latest
npx servergen@latest my-api
npx servergen@latest my-api --framework node
npx servergen@latest my-api --view ejs
npx servergen@latest my-api --db
npx servergen@latest my-api --openapi
npx servergen@latest my-api --typescript
npx servergen@latest my-api --port 8080
npx servergen@latest my-api --skip-install
npx servergen@latest --name my-api

For command-by-command walkthroughs, generated file lists, and verification steps, see the scaffold examples.

Install Options

Use the interactive create flow for the shortest first run:

npm create servergen@latest

Use npx when you want the direct CLI path without adding ServerGen to another project:

npx servergen@latest my-api

Install locally when you want ServerGen pinned in a project:

npm install --save-dev servergen
npx servergen my-api

For local installs, servergen is installed under node_modules/.bin and is not available as a plain shell command unless your shell PATH includes local npm bins.

Install globally when you want the servergen command available everywhere:

npm install -g servergen
servergen my-api

Release Integrity

Tagged releases are published from GitHub Actions with npm trusted publishing and provenance, using OIDC instead of a long-lived npm token. Before publishing, the release workflow packs the package, installs that tarball in a throwaway project, scaffolds Express and Node apps, starts them, and verifies live HTTP responses.

The same workflow creates or updates the matching GitHub Release as latest after npm publish succeeds, so GitHub releases track the npm latest package.

License

MIT