Expressly

A blueprint for an Express-based Node.js web app.

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Twitter Bootstrap

If you want to use Twitter Bootstrap 2, checkout the "bootstrap" branch. (http://twitter.github.com/bootstrap/)

Why

Setting up a new Express app each time is tedious. It's imperative to have a good flexible structure that you understand very well. But setting it up each time is a hassle. Cloning this repo is a shortcut.

What

This is my system. This is how I organize Express apps. It allows for centralized "config" as well as dynamic addition of route/controller/model files. Following this formulat gets me up and running quickly.

Requirements

This uses Express, Mongoose as the manipulator of MongoDB, and Redis as a session store. It's built to run on Heroku (which is currently on node 4.7)

• Express (http://expressjs.com/)
• Mongoose (http://mongoosejs.com/)
• Cluster (https://github.com/LearnBoost/cluster)
• Forever (https://github.com/nodejitsu/forever)
• Async (https://github.com/caolan/async)
• Connect-Redis (https://github.com/visionmedia/connect-redis)

Architecture

The file structure looks like this:

app - The primary folder for the logic of the app.

• app.js - Creates the express app, executes the config functions, and binds the models and routes
• cluster.js - Launches app.js as a cluster
• start.js - Starts the app by setting cluster.js to run forever

controllers - Files that control what the app should do with a web request

• c_xxxx.js - Create controller files of the included template with "c_" at the beginning of the file name. Controllers are dynamically loaded by the routes.

models - Mongoose model definitions that set the data schema and control how data is manipulated

• m_xxxx.js - Create model files of the included template with "m_" at the beginning of the file name. Models are bound to the app when initialized and passed to routes and controllers for access.
• models.js - Loads all model files in the 'models' directory. All models become accessible as m.UPPERCASED_MODELNAME in routes and controllers.

routes - Define the HTTP entry to the controllers

• r_xxxx.js - Create route files of the included template with "r_" at the beginning of the file name. Routes are bound to the app when initialized.
• routes.js - Loads all route files in the 'models' directory and binds the controller with the corresponding name.

view - Views that render the data (I prefer ejs)

config - The primary folder for the logic of the app.

environments - This is where environment specific parameters are set

• all.js - Config settings that app to every environment
• development.js/testing.js/production.js - Config settings that apply to environment the app is being run in

params - Contains app-level params

• errors.js - Define errors here to allow for convenient and centralized error messages in the app
• params.js - Central place to maintain global params as well as params for each environment

lib - A container for other modules

public - A container for public files (e.g., favicon, images, css, html, etc)

Getting Started

Set config files

• In params.js, define the parameters that your app needs
• Most importantly set your mongo (mongoStore) and redis URIs (redisSession)
• For mongo, I find www.mongolab.com to be amazing
• For redis, I use www.redistogo.com

Update environment settings

• You may not need to do anything if you don't have other requirements for Express, but update each environment's settings if needed

Create Models, Routes, Controllers

• Define new Mongoose models using the format of the sample found in the "models" folder. Each file must have a name like "m_modelname.js" where it begins with "m_". The models will be automatically binder to the app when it launches. Models can be accessed in the routes and controllers as m.MODELNAME
• Define new routes using the format provided. Each file must have a name like "r_routename.js" where it begins with "r_". The routes will be automatically binder to the app when it launches. Route names and controller names must be the same after the leading "_r" and "_c". Each route should have a unique controller function that it calls. I like to make the name the camelcased path of the endpoint. For example, GET /user/:id would be getUserId()
• Define controllers using the format provided. Each file must have a name like "c_controllername.js" where it beings with "c_" and "controllername" must match the name of the associated route.

That's it! Now go to the console and say "node ./app/start.js"