mern-project-cli

🚀 MERN Project Generator CLI

Create production-ready MERN stack projects in seconds!

Are you tired of:

• ⏰ Spending hours setting up basic MERN project structures?
• 🔧 Configuring MongoDB connections from scratch?
• 📁 Creating the same folder structure over and over?
• 🎯 Missing important configurations in your initial setup?
• 🔄 Copying boilerplate code from old projects?

MERN Project Generator CLI is your ultimate solution! In just seconds, create a complete, production-ready MongoDB, Express, React, and Node.js project structure with a single command.

✨ Features

• One Command Setup: Generate both frontend and backend with a single command
• Industry-Standard Structure: Pre-configured folder structure following best practices
• Instant MongoDB Integration: Connect to MongoDB with zero configuration
• Development Ready: Hot-reloading enabled for both frontend and backend
• Pre-configured Environment: .env.example files included with sensible defaults
• Git Ready: Initialized Git repository with proper .gitignore files

📑 Index

• Requirements
• Installation
• Commands
  • 1. devcli create
  • 2. devcli mongodb-connect
• Complete User Journey Example
• Future Enhancements
• Contribute
• License
• Support the project

⚡ Requirements

Before you begin, ensure your system meets these requirements:

• Node.js: Version 14.x or higher

  • Check with: node --version
  • Download from: nodejs.org

• npm: Version 6.x or higher

  • Check with: npm --version
  • Comes with Node.js installation

• MongoDB: Local or remote installation

  • Local installation: MongoDB Community Server
  • Cloud option: MongoDB Atlas

📦 Installation

Install the CLI tool globally to use it from anywhere in your system:

npm install -g mern-project-cli

To check installation version:

devcli --version

🛠️ Commands

1. Create MERN Project

devcli create <your_project_name>

What This Command Does:

1. 📁 Creates Project Structure:

The generated project follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern, a battle-tested architecture that separates your application into three main components:

your-project-name/
├── backend/
│   ├── controllers/         # Handle business logicdocumentation
│   ├── db/                  # Database configuration
│   ├── middlewares/         # Custom middleware functionsdocumentation
│   ├── models/              # MongoDB Schema model
│   ├── routes/              # API route definitions
│   ├── utils/               # Helper functionsdocumentation
│   ├── .env.example         # Environment variables template
│   ├── .gitignore           # Git ignore rules
│   ├── constants.js         # Application constants
│   ├── package.json         # Dependencies and scripts
│   ├── README.md            # Backend documentation
│   └── server.js            # Server entry point
└── frontend/
    ├── public/              # Static files
    ├── src/                 # React source code
    │   ├── components/      # React components
    │   ├── pages/           # Page components
    │   ├── utils/           # Helper functions
    │   └── App.js           # Root component
    ├── .env.example         # Frontend environment template
    └── package.json         # Frontend dependencies

2. Installs Dependencies:

• Backend:
  • Express
  • Mongoose
  • CORS
  • dotenv
  • nodemon (dev dependency)
• Frontend:
  • React
  • React Router
  • Axios
  • Other Create React App dependencies

After Creation:

Start Backend Development:

cd your-project-name/backend

npm run dev             # Start development server with nodemon

Start Frontend Development:

cd your-project-name/frontend

npm start               # Start React App

2. Connect MongoDB

• Create database as your_project_name_db

devcli mongodb-connect

• Or with custom database name

devcli mongodb-connect --project custom-name  

Options:

• -p, --project <name>: Specify custom database name
• No options: Uses project folder name as database name

What This Command Does:

1. Creates Database Connection:

• Generates connection.js in the db folder
• Sets up Mongoose connection with error handling
• Configures connection string based on environment variables

2. Updates Server Configuration:

• Adds database connection import to server.js
• Sets up connection status logging

Usage Examples:

# Using project name
devcli mongodb-connect

# Using custom database name
devcli mongodb-connect --project custom_name

Generated Files:

// db/connection.js
require('dotenv').config();
const mongoose = require('mongoose');

const dburl = process.env.DB_URL || "mongodb://localhost:27017/your_db_name";
mongoose.connect(dburl)
  .then(() => console.log("Connected to DB Successfully"))
  .catch((err) => console.log(err.message));

📖 Complete User Journey Example

Let's create a blog application from scratch:

# Step 1: Install CLI globally
npm install -g mern-project-cli

# Step 2: Create new project
devcli create my-blog-app

# Step 3: Set up backend
cd my-blog-app/backend
npm run dev

# Step 4: Set up frontend (new terminal)
cd ../frontend
npm start

# Step 5: Connect MongoDB (optional)
cd ../backend
devcli mongodb-connect

🎉 Congratulations! Your blog application structure is ready with:
- Backend running on `http://localhost:5000`
- Frontend running on `http://localhost:3000`
- MongoDB connected and ready to use

⚙️ Environment Configuration

Backend (.env)

# Server Configuration
PORT=5000

# Database Configuration
DB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/your_db_name

Frontend (.env)

# API Configuration
REACT_APP_API_URL=http://localhost:5000

🔧 Development Commands

Backend Commands

npm run dev     # Start with auto-reload (development)
npm start       # Start without auto-reload (production)

Frontend Commands

npm start       # Start development server
npm run build   # Create production build
npm test        # Run tests
npm run eject   # Eject from Create React App

Why Choose MERN Project Generator CLI?

🎯 Perfect For:

• Startups: Launch MVPs faster with a solid foundation
• Freelancers: Start client projects instantly
• Teams: Maintain consistent project structure across developers
• Learning: Focus on coding instead of setup when learning MERN stack
• Hackathons: Get your project up and running in minutes

💪 Built for Real Development:

• Production-Ready: Follows industry best practices out of the box
• Scalable Structure: Organized for growth from day one
• Developer Friendly: Hot-reloading, environment configs, and Git ready
• Customizable: Easy to modify and extend based on your needs
• Time-Saving: Eliminate repetitive setup tasks

🛠️ What You Get:

• Complete MERN Setup: MongoDB, Express, React, and Node.js configured and ready
• Modern Tooling: Latest versions of all dependencies
• Development Mode: Hot-reloading for both frontend and backend
• API Ready: Basic API structure with examples
• Database Connected: MongoDB configuration with just one command
• Environment Ready: Pre-configured environment files
• Version Control: Git initialized with proper .gitignore files

Skip the boring setup and jump straight into building your next big idea! Whether you're creating a quick prototype, starting a serious project, or learning the MERN stack, this CLI tool gives you the perfect foundation to build upon.

🔮 Future Enhancements

1. Code Generation

   • Database schema generator
   • API route generator
   • React component generator
   • CRUD operations generator

2. Template System

   • Custom template support

🤝 Contribute to the Project

We welcome and appreciate contributions to MERN Project Generator CLI! If you’d like to help improve this tool, feel free to:

• Fork the repository
• Submit pull requests
• Open issues for bugs or suggestions Your contributions will help make this tool even better for the developer community!

📄 License

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

🌟 Support the Project

If you find this tool helpful, please consider:

• Giving it a star on GitHub
• Sharing it with your fellow developers
• Contributing to its development

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🌟 Made with ❤️ by Manish Raj

Portfolio • GitHub • LinkedIn • Twitter