“No more boring manual setup. Just run one command and start coding your Express.js backend immediately.”
🧩 What Is Create Express App?
Create Express App (CEA) is an open-source CLI tool that helps you scaffold a production-ready Express.js backend in just a few seconds.
It’s inspired by create-react-app, but built for backend developers who want to skip the repetitive setup every time they start a new project.
With one command:
npx create-ex-app my-app
You instantly get a fully configured Express.js project — complete with routing, environment configuration, database support, logging, and best-practice structure.
🧱 Why This Tool Exists
If you’ve ever started a Node + Express project, you know the drill:
Initialize package.json
Install express, cors, dotenv, morgan, etc.
Create folder structure for routes, controllers, and models
Add ESLint, Prettier, Nodemon
Configure environment variables
Connect to MongoDB or SQL
Set up rate-limiting, helmet, and error handling
That’s 20+ minutes of setup before you even write your first line of business logic.
With Create Express App, you can skip all that.
Run one command, pick your preferences, and start building your API right away.
⚙️ How It Works
npx create-ex-app my-api
You’ll be prompted to select:
🟨 Language → JavaScript or TypeScript
🧩 Database → None, MongoDB (Mongoose), SQL (TypeORM / Sequelize)
🔒 Setup Options → Helmet, Rate-Limiter, Compression, Pino Logging
🧰 Dev Tools → Nodemon, ESLint, Prettier, Path Aliases
The CLI then generates a complete, opinionated folder structure like this:
my-api/
├─ src/
│ ├─ app.ts
│ ├─ routes/
│ ├─ controllers/
│ ├─ models/
│ ├─ middlewares/
│ └─ config/
├─ .env.example
├─ tsconfig.json / jsconfig.json
├─ package.json
└─ README.md
🚀 Features You Get Out-of-the-Box
✅ Production-ready structure — scalable Express.js boilerplate
✅ Pino logging — lightweight, fast structured logs
✅ Helmet + Rate limiting — secure by default
✅ Environment config — .env integration with validation
✅ Path aliases — clean import paths (@/controllers/UserController)
✅ Preconfigured ESLint + Prettier — clean code from day one
✅ Optional database setup — MongoDB / PostgreSQL / MySQL
✅ TypeScript or JavaScript — your choice
✅ Built-in dev scripts — hot reload with Nodemon or ts-node
💡 Example: MongoDB Template
npx create-ex-app my-api --template mongo
You’ll get a working MongoDB connection and sample CRUD route out of the box:
import express from "express";
import { connectDB } from "@/config/db";
import userRoutes from "@/routes/user.routes";
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
app.use("/api/users", userRoutes);
connectDB();
app.listen(5000, () => console.log("Server running on port 5000"));
🧠 Philosophy Behind Create Express App
The goal is simple:
“Let developers focus on logic, not boilerplate.”
Every Express developer has their own preferred setup — but the fundamentals are mostly the same.
Create Express App gives you those essentials instantly while keeping your project clean, modular, and scalable.
It’s not a framework — it’s a starting point.
You’re free to customize, replace, or extend anything.
🌍 Perfect for
🚀 Startup MVPs — build and deploy APIs fast
🧑💻 Freelancers — new client projects in minutes
🏫 Students — learn Express with clean, modern patterns
🧱 Agencies — maintain consistency across teams
📦 Installation
npx create-ex-app my-app
or install globally:
npm install -g create-express-app
create-ex-app my-app
Then follow the prompts and choose your stack.
🧰 Example Output
When setup is complete, you’ll see:
✅ Project created successfully!
Next steps:
cd my-app
npm install
npm run dev
Happy coding 🚀
🔧 Tech Highlights
Express.js 5+
TypeScript / JavaScript
Pino / Morgan logging
Helmet, CORS, Compression, RateLimiter
ESLint, Prettier, Nodemon
Mongoose / TypeORM / Sequelize
dotenv, path aliasing
CLI built with Node.js + Chalk + Inquirer
📖 Documentation
Full docs & guides live at:
👉 https://create-express-app.vercel.app
🤝 Contribute
Create Express App is open-source!
If you love Express or want to contribute templates and features:
🔗 GitHub: github.com/gausalmunirtushar/create-express-app
Join the community on Discord:
💬 https://discord.gg/kfMbZHfSx7
🏁 Final Thoughts
There’s no reason backend setup should be painful in 2025.
Create Express App makes starting new projects fast, clean, and consistent — so you can focus on building features that matter.
“From zero to Express server in 10 seconds.
That’s the power of automation.”
Try it now:
npx create-ex-app my-app
and build your backend faster than ever. 🚀
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