Sample Node Express Template

Fork this template repository to get started with Node / Express.

Or follow the steps below to create your own:

Create the repository

In Github Desktop: Choose File > New Repository
Name: The name of your project, e.g. sample-node-express-template
Local Path: The directory on your computer where you keep your projects
Create Readme: Yes
Choose Repository > Open in Terminal

Initialize NPM

In Terminal...

# initialize NPM - just hit return for each of these for now
npm init
# install nodemon for development
npm install -g nodemon
# install project dependencies
npm install --save express express-handlebars node-fetch
# open in Atom
atom .

Notes on the file structure

In Atom, add the following files from the source from this repository...

app/middleware.js - Helper functions for your application stack
app/routes.js - Organize all your routes in a single file
public - Directory with public sample assets
views - Directory with handlebar layout files
.gitignore - Tell git to ignore files
.jshintrc - Configuration file for JSHint
app.js - Main app file, ties together all the middleware and modules
package.json - Update your own start scripts from this
Procfile - Tells Heroku how to start
server.js - Loads the app and starts the file

Start the application

Start the app: npm start
Check that your app is running https://localhost:3000/

The following start options are also available

Start in development mode (with nodemon --inspect) npm run start-dev
If you are using HTTPS locally (with nodemon --inspect) npm run start-https

Notes