From zero to $10M empire!” – Me & my future yacht!

I Built a Task Manager Empire in One Day — And Deployed It for Free!

Okay, maybe not $10M yet… but I shipped a complete Task Manager API with Node.js, Express, MySQL — and it’s already live on the real internet, 24/7, for exactly $0.

Here’s the live empire 👑

🔗https://task-manager-empire-victorion014-z7znahfd.leapcell.dev

Go ahead, spam GET /api/tasks — it’s serverless, I literally pay nothing 😎

Why I Built This (The Quick Origin Story)

I was grinding backend with freeCodeCamp and wanted a project that checks every box:

• Real database (no fake JSON files)
• Actually live on the internet forever
• Costs me $0 forever
• Looks amazing on my GitHub and resume

So I built Task Manager Empire in a couple or more crazy days — and now I’m giving you the full blueprint so you can clone and flex your own empire in under 10 minutes.

Tech Stack (Simple, Free, Powerful)

Layer	Technology
Runtime	Node.js v20
Framework	Express.js
Database	MySQL via PlanetScale
Hosting	Leapcell.io (serverless)
Dev Tools	nodemon, Postman, Git

Zero lock-in. Zero cost. 100% production-ready.

API Endpoints (Clean & RESTful)

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/tasks	Get all tasks
POST	/api/tasks	Create a new task
PUT	/api/tasks/:id	Update a task
DELETE	/api/tasks/:id	Delete a task

Try It Live Right Now!

Create an epic task:

bash
POST https://task-manager-empire.leapcell.app/api/tasks
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "title": "Buy Lambo",
  "description": "After this post goes viral"
}

You’ll get back:json

{
  "id": 123,
  "title": "Buy Lambo",
  "description": "After this post goes viral",
  "status": "pending",
  "created_at": "2025-11-29T23:59:59.000Z"
}

Feel free to break it — it auto-scales and costs me nothing!!!

Project Structure (No Confusion)

task-manager-empire/
├── server.js                    # Entry point
├── config/db.js                 # PlanetScale connection
├── routes/tasks.js              # All routes
├── controllers/taskController.js# Logic
├── leapcell.yml                 # Deployment config
├── .env                         # Secrets (gitignored)
├── package.json
└── README.md

Run Your Own Empire Locally (5 minutes)bash

git clone https://github.com/victorion0/task-manager-empire.git
cd task-manager-empire
npm install

Create your .env file (get free credentials from PlanetScale):

DB_HOST=xxxxxxxx.us-east.connect.psdb.cloud
DB_USER=xxxxxxxx
DB_PASSWORD=xxxxxxxx
DB_NAME=taskmanager
DB_PORT=3306

Then: bash

npm run dev

API runs at http://localhost:5000 Deploy in 60 Seconds on Leapcell.io (Free Forever Plan)Push your code to GitHub  
Go to https://leapcell.io → New Project → Connect your repo  
Add the same PlanetScale env vars  
Click Deploy

Done. Your empire is live forever. No credit card needed. 

What’s Next for the Empire? 

User authentication with JWT
React frontend (already sketching it)
React Native mobile app
Email/SMS reminders
Pro plan: $5/month for unlimited tasks + golden crown badge

Final Words: This is a backend project that actually lives on the real internet, scales automatically, and costs nothing to run. If you're learning Node.js, Express, or backend in general — stop watching tutorials all day. Build your own empire today. Star the repo if this helped you
https://github.com/victorion0/task-manager-empireFollow me for more “zero to hero” projects, and drop a comment:

What should the empire conquer next?

#nodejs #beginners #webdev #api #mysql #serverless #javascript #programming