🚀 MERN Project Generator CLI

Create production-ready MERN stack projects in seconds!

NPM Package Website mern-project-cli

Website https://devcli.vercel.app

MERN Project Generator CLI is a powerful tool designed to simplify the process of setting up a complete, production-ready MERN stack project in seconds.

This tool eliminates the need for manual configurations, boilerplate code copying, and repetitive tasks, allowing developers to start building their apps right away with best practices in place. Perfect for both beginners and experienced developers, it saves time and ensures a solid project foundation.

It complies with latest React v19 and tailwindcss v4

✨ Features

• One Command Setup: Generate both frontend and backend with a single command
• Industry-Standard Structure: Pre-configured folder structure following best practices
• Create frontend with shadcn and vite, a new React project with either Shadcn UI + Tailwind CSS or just Vite + Tailwind CSS using a single command.
• Instant MongoDB Integration: Connect to MongoDB with zero configuration
• Generate Mongoose Schema: Generate Mongoose Schema with just one command
• Development Ready: Hot-reloading enabled for both frontend and backend
• Pre-configured Environment: .env.example files included with sensible defaults
• Git Ready: Initialized Git repository with proper .gitignore files

📑 Index

• Requirements
• Installation
• Commands
  • 1. devcli create
  • 2. devcli mongodb-connect
  • 3. devcli mongoose-schema
  • 4. devcli add-redux
  • 5. devcli create-frontend <project_name>
  • 6. devcli init-dockerfiles
  • 7. devcli add-eslint
  • 8. devcli add-jwt-auth
  • 9. devcli deploy --vercel
• Complete User Journey Example
• Future Enhancements
• Contribute
• License
• Support the project

⚡ Requirements

Before you begin, ensure your system meets these requirements:

• Node.js: Version 14.x or higher
• npm: Version 6.x or higher
• MongoDB: Local or remote installation

📦 Installation

Install the CLI tool globally to use it from anywhere in your system:

1npm install -g mern-project-cli

To check installation version:

1devcli --version

🛠️ Commands

1. Create MERN Project

1devcli create <your_project_name>

What This Command Does:

1. 📁 Creates Project Structure:

The generated project follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern, a battle-tested architecture that separates your application into three main components:

your-project-name/
├── backend/
│   ├── controllers/         # Handle business logicdocumentation
│   ├── db/                  # Database configuration
│   ├── middlewares/         # Custom middleware functionsdocumentation
│   ├── models/              # MongoDB Schema model
│   ├── routes/              # API route definitions
│   ├── utils/               # Helper functionsdocumentation
│   ├── .env.example         # Environment variables template
│   ├── .gitignore           # Git ignore rules
│   ├── constants.js         # Application constants
│   ├── package.json         # Dependencies and scripts
│   ├── README.md            # Backend documentation
│   └── server.js            # Server entry point
└── frontend/
    ├── public/              # Static files
    ├── src/                 # React source code
    │   ├── components/      # React components
    │   ├── pages/           # Page components
    │   ├── utils/           # Helper functions
    │   └── App.js           # Root component
    ├── .env.example         # Frontend environment template
    └── package.json         # Frontend dependencies

2. Installs Dependencies:

• Backend: Express, Mongoose, CORS, dotenv, nodemon.
• Frontend: React, React Router, Axios, Other Create React App dependencies.

After Creation:

Start Backend Development:

1cd your-project-name/backend

1npm run dev             # Start development server with nodemon

Start Frontend Development:

1cd your-project-name/frontend

npm start               # Start React App

Option:

To create only backend directory.

1devcli create my_backend --backend

1devcli create my_project --next

2. Connect MongoDB

• Create database as your_project_name_db

1devcli mongodb-connect

• Or with custom database name

devcli mongodb-connect --project custom-name

Options:

• -p, --project <name>: Specify custom database name
• No options: Uses project folder name as database name

What This Command Does:

1. Creates Database Connection:

• Generates connection.js in the db folder
• Sets up Mongoose connection with error handling
• Configures connection string based on environment variables

2. Updates Server Configuration:

• Adds database connection import to server.js
• Sets up connection status logging

Usage Examples:

1# Using project name
2devcli mongodb-connect
3
4# Using custom database name
5devcli mongodb-connect --project custom_name

Generated Files:

1// db/connection.js
2require('dotenv').config();
3const mongoose = require('mongoose');
4
5const dburl = process.env.DB_URL || 'mongodb://localhost:27017/your_db_name';
6mongoose
7  .connect(dburl)
8  .then(() => console.log('Connected to DB Successfully'))
9  .catch((err) => console.log(err.message));

3. Generate Mongoose Schema

• Create mongoose schema for your backend.

1devcli devcli mongoose-schema <schema-name> <fieldName:fieldType fieldName:fieldType ...>
2

Usage Example

1devcli mongoose-schema User name:String email:String password:String

This will create a User.js file with a Mongoose schema inside the models/ directory:

1//models/User.js
2import mongoose from 'mongoose';
3
4const UserSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
5  name: { type: String, required: true },
6  email: { type: String, required: true },
7  password: { type: String, required: true },
8});
9
10const User = mongoose.model('User', UserSchema);
11export default User;

Explanation:

The mongoose-schema command takes a model name (User) and field definitions (name:String, email:String, password:String), generating a Mongoose model file in the models/ folder.

4. Add Redux

Set up Redux in your project or add new Redux slices.

Initialize Redux

1devcli add-redux --init

What does this command do:

• Sets up Redux store configuration
• Creates necessary store files and directories
• Installs required dependencies (@reduxjs/toolkit and react-redux)
• Creates hooks for easier Redux usage

Create Redux Slice

1devcli add-redux --slice <sliceName> --actions="action1,action2" --state="field1:type,field2:type"

Options:

• --slice: Name of the slice to create
• --actions: Comma-separated list of actions for the slice
• --state: Initial state fields with types (string, boolean, array)

Usage Example:

1devcli add-redux --slice user --actions="login,logout" --state="username:string,isLoggedIn:boolean"

This creates:

• A new slice file in src/store/slices
• Boilerplate for specified actions
• Initial state with typed fields
• Automatic integration with the Redux store

Example Generated Redux Slice

When you run the command:

1devcli add-redux --slice user --actions="login,logout" --state="username:string,isLoggedIn:boolean"

It generates the following slice in src/store/slices/userSlice.js:

1import { createSlice } from '@reduxjs/toolkit';
2
3const initialState = {
4  username: '',
5  isLoggedIn: false,
6};
7
8const userSlice = createSlice({
9  name: 'user',
10  initialState,
11  reducers: {
12    login: (state, action) => {
13      // Implement login logic here
14    },
15    logout: (state, action) => {
16      // Implement logout logic here
17    },
18  },
19});
20
21export const { login, logout } = userSlice.actions;
22export default userSlice.reducer;

5. Create Frontend Project

Create a new React project with either Shadcn UI + Tailwind CSS or just Vite + Tailwind CSS using a single command.

1# Create project with Shadcn UI
2devcli create-frontend <project_name> --shadcn
3
4# Create project with Vite + Tailwind CSS
5devcli create-frontend <project_name> --vite

Features

With --shadcn flag:

• Creates a Vite + React project
• Installs and configures Tailwind CSS
• Sets up Shadcn UI with New York style and Zinc color scheme
• Configures project structure with best practices
• Adds initial button component as example
• Sets up path aliases for better imports
• Includes all necessary configuration files

With --vite flag:

• Creates a basic Vite + React project
• Installs and configures Tailwind CSS
• Sets up minimal project structure
• Includes starter template with modern styling

Options

• --shadcn: Include Shadcn UI setup with Tailwind CSS
• --vite: Create basic Vite project with Tailwind CSS only

Usage Examples

1# Create a new React project with Shadcn UI
2devcli create-frontend my-app --shadcn
3
4# Create a new React project with just Vite + Tailwind
5devcli create-frontend my-app --vite
6
7# Navigate to project
8cd my-app
9
10# Start development server
11npm run dev

Generated Project Structure with --shadcn

your-project/
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   │   └── ui/
│   │       └── button.jsx
│   ├── lib/
│   │   └── utils.js
│   ├── App.jsx
│   └── index.css
├── jsconfig.json
├── tailwind.config.js
├── vite.config.js
└── components.json

After Creation with --shadcn

• Add more Shadcn components using:

  1npx shadcn@latest add <component-name>

• Available components can be found at shadcn/ui components
• Customize theme in tailwind.config.js
• Add your own components in src/components

6. Initialize Docker Files

Generate Dockerfiles for both backend and frontend, along with a docker-compose.yml file for your MERN stack project.

1devcli init-dockerfiles

What This Command Does:

1. Creates Backend Dockerfile:

   • Uses Node.js 20 Alpine image
   • Sets up working directory
   • Installs dependencies
   • Configures for development mode
   • Exposes port 5000

2. Creates Frontend Dockerfile:

   • Uses Node.js 20 Alpine image
   • Sets up working directory
   • Installs dependencies
   • Exposes port 3000
   • Configures for development mode

3. Generates docker-compose.yml:

   • Configures services for backend, frontend, and MongoDB
   • Sets up proper networking between services
   • Configures volumes for development
   • Sets environment variables
   • Establishes service dependencies

Requirements:

• Project must have backend and frontend directories in root
• Docker must be installed on your system

Generated Files:

your-project/
├── backend/
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── .dockerignore
├── frontend/
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── .dockerignore
└── docker-compose.yml

Usage:

1# Navigate to your project root
2cd your-project
3
4# Generate Docker files
5devcli init-dockerfiles
6
7# Start the containerized application
8docker-compose up

This will start your application with:

• Backend running on http://localhost:5000
• Frontend running on http://localhost:3000
• MongoDB running on port 27017

7. Add ESLint and Prettierrc

Initialize ESLint in the specified directory (frontend, backend, or the current directory) to ensure consistent code quality with tailored configurations based on the project type.

1devcli add-eslint [directory]   # Set up ESLint in the specified directory (defaults to current directory)

What This Command Does:

• Automatically Detects Project Type: Determines if the project is a React, Vue, TypeScript, Node.js, or plain JavaScript application.
• Configures ESLint: Creates a .eslintrc.json file specific to the detected environment (e.g., browser for React, Node.js for backend).
• Installs Dependencies: Automatically installs ESLint, Prettier, and their necessary plugins as development dependencies in the specified directory.
• Supports Multiple File Extensions: Handles various file types based on the project structure.

Example Usage

• To set up ESLint in the backend directory:

  1devcli add-eslint backend

• To set up ESLint in the frontend directory:

  1devcli add-eslint frontend

• To set up ESLint in the current directory (default):

  1devcli add-eslint

Example Generated ESLint Configuration

This command generates a basic ESLint configuration file (.eslintrc.json) that looks like this:

For Backend Directory:

1{
2  "env": {
3    "browser": false,
4    "node": true,
5    "es2021": true
6  },
7  "extends": ["eslint:recommended", "plugin:prettier/recommended"],
8  "parserOptions": {
9    "ecmaVersion": 12
10  },
11  "rules": {}
12}

For Frontend Directory:

1{
2  "env": {
3    "browser": true,
4    "node": false,
5    "es2021": true
6  },
7  "extends": [
8    "eslint:recommended",
9    "plugin:react/recommended",
10    "plugin:prettier/recommended"
11  ],
12  "parserOptions": {
13    "ecmaVersion": 12,
14    "ecmaFeatures": {
15      "jsx": true
16    }
17  },
18  "rules": {}
19}

For Arbitrary Folders (Defaulting to Node):

1{
2  "env": {
3    "browser": false,
4    "node": true,
5    "es2021": true
6  },
7  "extends": ["eslint:recommended", "plugin:prettier/recommended"],
8  "parserOptions": {
9    "ecmaVersion": 12
10  },
11  "rules": {}
12}

Benefits

• Automates Setup: Saves time by automating the ESLint configuration process based on project type.
• Ensures Consistency: Helps maintain consistent linting rules across backend and frontend codebases.
• Supports Arbitrary Setup: Allows for easy ESLint configuration in any directory, defaulting to Node.js environment.

8. Add JWT Authetication and Authorization

Here is the content for the 8th command, "Add JWT Authentication":

Add JWT authentication boilerplate to your backend project.

1devcli add-jwt-auth

What This Command Does:

1. Creates Necessary Directories:

   • controllers/authController.js
   • middlewares/authMiddleware.js
   • models/userModel.js
   • routes/authRoutes.js

2. Generates Authentication Logic:

   • authController.js - Handles user registration and login with JWT token generation.
   • authMiddleware.js - Implements middleware to authenticate and authorize requests using JWT tokens.
   • userModel.js - Defines a Mongoose schema for the User model.
   • authRoutes.js - Defines API routes for authentication, including register, login, and a protected route.

3. Installs Required Dependencies:

   • bcryptjs - For password hashing
   • jsonwebtoken - For generating and verifying JWT tokens

4. Integrates Authentication Routes:

   • Adds the authentication routes to the server.js file.

5. Provides Next Steps:

   • Update the .env file with a secure JWT_SECRET.
   • Start the server and test the authentication routes:
     • POST /api/auth/register: Register a new user
     • POST /api/auth/login: Log in and get the JWT token
     • GET /api/auth/protected: Access the protected route with the JWT token

Usage:

1. Run the command in your project's backend directory:

   1devcli add-jwt-auth

2. Update the .env file in the backend directory with a secure JWT_SECRET.

3. Start the server and test the authentication routes.

Generated Files:

backend/
├── controllers/
│   └── authController.js
├── middlewares/
│   └── authMiddleware.js
├── models/
│   └── userModel.js
├── routes/
│   └── authRoutes.js

The generated files implement the following functionality:

1. authController.js: Handles user registration and login, generating JWT tokens.
2. authMiddleware.js: Middleware to authenticate and authorize requests using JWT tokens.
3. userModel.js: Mongoose schema and model for the User.
4. authRoutes.js: API routes for authentication, including register, login, and a protected route.

After running this command, you can start using the authentication system in your backend application.

9. Deploy Frontend to Vercel

Deploy your frontend application to Vercel with a single command. This feature supports production deployments, preview deployments, custom domains, and automatic environment variable handling.

🚀 Frontend Deployment to Vercel CLI Guide

Overview

Deploy your frontend application to Vercel with a single command using the devcli tool. This feature supports production deployments, preview deployments, custom domains, and automatic environment variable handling.

Command Syntax

1devcli deploy --vercel [options]

Options

Option	Description
--vercel	Deploy the frontend to Vercel
--preview	Deploy a preview version (not production)
--domain <domain>	Specify a custom domain for deployment (e.g., myapp.com)

Features

1. Automatic Environment Variable Handling

• Uploads environment variables from .env files automatically
• Validates required environment variables before deployment

2. Preview Deployments

• Deploy a preview version of your app for testing and validation

3. Custom Domain Support

• Deploy your application to a custom domain

4. Deployment Status and URL

• Displays the deployment URL after successful deployment

5. Vercel Login Check

• Automatically checks if the user is logged in to Vercel
• Prompts for login if not authenticated

Usage Examples

1. Production Deployment

1devcli deploy --vercel

Expected Output:

🚀 Deploying frontend to Vercel...
📦 Uploading environment variables...
✅ Frontend deployed successfully!

🎉 Your frontend has been deployed to Vercel!
👉 Open the deployed URL: https://myapp.vercel.app

2. Preview Deployment

1devcli deploy --vercel --preview

Expected Output:

🚀 Deploying frontend to Vercel (preview)...
📦 Uploading environment variables...
✅ Frontend deployed successfully!

🎉 Your frontend has been deployed to Vercel!
👉 Open the preview URL: https://myapp-git-branch.vercel.app

3. Custom Domain Deployment

1devcli deploy --vercel --domain myapp.com

Expected Output:

🚀 Deploying frontend to Vercel with custom domain...
📦 Uploading environment variables...
✅ Frontend deployed successfully!

🎉 Your frontend has been deployed to Vercel!
👉 Open the deployed URL: https://myapp.com

Prerequisites

Vercel CLI Installation

Install the Vercel CLI globally:

1npm install -g vercel

Vercel Login

Log in to Vercel:

1vercel login

Error Handling

1. Invalid Directory

❌ This does not seem to be a valid frontend app. Make sure you are in the root of your frontend project.

2. Vercel CLI Not Installed

❌ Vercel CLI is not installed. Please install it using `npm install -g vercel`.

3. Vercel Login Required

🔑 You are not logged in to Vercel. Please log in to continue.

Best Practices

• Ensure your project has a valid package.json
• Configure your Vercel project settings in the Vercel dashboard
• Use environment variables for sensitive configuration
• Regularly test preview deployments before production

Support

For additional help, consult the Vercel documentation or contact your development team's support channels.

📖 Complete User Journey Example

Let's create a blog application from scratch:

1# Step 1: Install CLI globally
2npm install -g mern-project-cli
3
4# Step 2: Create new project
5devcli create my-blog-app
6
7# Step 3: Set up backend
8cd my-blog-app/backend
9npm run dev
10
11# Step 4: Set up frontend (new terminal)
12cd ../frontend
13npm start
14
15# Step 5: Connect MongoDB (optional)
16cd ../backend
17devcli mongodb-connect
18
19# Step 6: Generate Mongoose Scheama (optional)
20devcli mongoose-schema Blog name:String category:String
21
22
23# Step 7: Set up Redux
24cd ../frontend
25devcli add-redux --init
26
27# Step 8: Set up Es-lint and prettierrc
28cd ../backend
29devcli add-eslint
30
31cd ../frontend
32devcli add-eslint
33# Step 9: Create blog slice for Redux
34devcli add-redux --slice blog --actions="addPost,deletePost,updatePost" --state="posts:array,loading:boolean"
35
36# Step 10: Add jwt authetication 
37cd ..backend
38devcli add-jwt-auth
39
40🎉 Congratulations! Your blog application structure is ready with:
41- Backend running on `http://localhost:5000`
42- Frontend running on `http://localhost:3000`
43- MongoDB connected and ready to use

⚙️ Environment Configuration

Backend (.env)

1# Server Configuration
2PORT=5000
3
4# Database Configuration
5DB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/your_db_name

Frontend (.env)

1# API Configuration
2REACT_APP_API_URL=http://localhost:5000
3

🔧 Available Commands

CLI Commands

Project Setup

1npm install -g mern-project-cli    # Install CLI globally
2devcli --version                   # Check CLI version
3devcli create <project-name>       # Create new MERN project

1OR [Create frontend with shadcn+tailwind/ vite+tailwind]
2
3devcli create-frontend <project-name> --shadcn    # shadcn-frontend
4devcli create-frontend <project-name> --vite      # vite-frontend

Backend CLI Commands

1# Database Connection
2devcli mongodb-connect                                          # Connect MongoDB using project name
3devcli mongodb-connect -p custom-name                           # Connect with custom database name
4
5# Schema Generation
6devcli mongoose-schema <schema-name> <fieldName:fieldType ...>  # Generate Mongoose schema
7# Example: devcli mongoose-schema User name:String email:String password:String

Frontend CLI Commands

1# Redux Setup
2devcli add-redux --init                                          # Initialize Redux in frontend
3devcli add-redux --slice <name> --actions="action1,action2" --state="field1:type,field2:type"       #Create Slice
4# Example: devcli add-redux --slice user --actions="login,logout" --state="username:string,isLoggedIn:boolean"

Docker CLI Commands

1# Docker Configuration
2devcli init-dockerfiles            # Generate Dockerfiles and docker-compose.yml

Development Commands

Backend Development

1cd backend                 # Navigate to backend directory
2npm install                # Install dependencies
3npm run dev                # Start with auto-reload (development)
4npm start                  # Start without auto-reload (production)

Frontend Development

1cd frontend                # Navigate to frontend directory
2npm install                # Install dependencies
3npm start                  # Start development server

Docker Development

1docker-compose up          # Start all services (backend, frontend, mongodb)
2docker-compose down        # Stop all services
3docker-compose up --build  # Rebuild and start all services

🔮 Future Enhancements

1. Code Generation More Code-Snippets

🤝 Contribute to the Project

We welcome and appreciate contributions to MERN Project Generator CLI! If you’d like to help improve this tool, feel free to do so.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🌟 Support the Project

If you find this tool helpful, please consider:

• Giving it a star on GitHub
• View on NPM mern-project-cli
• Sharing it with your fellow developers
• Contributing to its development

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