Are you looking to build Node.js applications with TypeScript? Do you want a starting point that provides a well-structured project setup and essential dependencies? Look no further! In this article, we’ll introduce you to the TypeScript Node.js Starter Template — a ready-to-use boilerplate that will help you kickstart your development process.

Features

The TypeScript Node.js Starter Template comes with the following features out of the box:

1. TypeScript Support: TypeScript allows you to write type-safe code, catching errors at compile-time rather than runtime.

2. Express.js Integration: Express.js is a popular web application framework for Node.js. It provides a simple and robust way to build web APIs.

3. Request Body Validation: The starter template includes Zod, a TypeScript-first schema validation library. It makes validating incoming request bodies a breeze, ensuring data integrity and consistency.

4. Prisma ORM: Prisma is a powerful Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tool that simplifies database operations. It allows you to interact with your database using a type-safe query builder and auto-generated TypeScript models.

5. Docker Compose: The template includes a Docker Compose configuration for local development with PostgreSQL. It sets up a PostgreSQL database instance easily, making it convenient for local development and testing.

Getting Started

To get started with the TypeScript Node.js Starter Template, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/rokasta12/typescript-nodejs-starter

1. Install the dependencies:

cd typescript-nodejs-starter
yarn

Set up the environment variables:

• Create a .env file in the root directory of the project.

• Define the required environment variables in the .env file. You can refer to the provided .env.example file for a list of required variables.

Run the application:

• For development with automatic reload (using nodemon):

yarn start:dev

• For building and running the production-ready application:

yarn start

1. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:<port>, where <port> is the port number defined in your environment variables or the default port (3000).

Customization and Expansion

The starter template provides a solid foundation for building Node.js applications with TypeScript, Express.js, and more. You can customize and expand the project to fit your specific needs. Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Add additional routes and controllers to build out your desired API endpoints.

• Integrate additional libraries or tools based on your project requirements.

• Extend the database schema and models using Prisma to fit your data persistence needs.

Conclusion

The TypeScript Node.js Starter Template is a great starting point for building robust and scalable Node.js applications. It combines the power of TypeScript, Express.js, Zod, Prisma, and Docker Compose to provide a feature-rich boilerplate that streamlines your development process. Feel free to clone the repository, customize it to your liking, and start building amazing Node.js applications today!

Happy coding! 🚀