Node.js Server Skeleton

Package skeleton for a Node.js server.

Description

Bootstrap a new Node.js server in five minutes or less.

Features

• Framework agnostic so you can bring one you like.
• Native ECMAScript module compatible with Node.js.
• Package management with npm.
• Alpine Linux based multi-stage Docker build for optimized production images.
• Images tagged on the GitHub Container Registry using version and commit checksum.
• Super fast, all natural JSON logging with Pino.
• Graceful shutdown and health checks with Terminus.
• Examples with configurable options and arguments powered by yargs with landlubber.
• Linting with the JavaScript Standard Style using ESLint.
• Prettier code.
• Futuristic debuggable unit testing with AVA.
• Code coverage reporting with Istanbul and c8.
• Continuous testing, deployment, and package publishing with GitHub Actions.
• Keep a CHANGELOG.
• Consistent coding with EditorConfig.
• Badges from Shields.io.
• Start coding instantly with GitHub Codespaces.

Bootstrapping a new project

1. Create an empty (non-initialized) repository on GitHub.
2. Clone the main branch of this repository with

   $ git clone --single-branch git@github.com:makenew/nodejs-server.git <new-node-app>
   $ cd <new-node-app>
   

   Optionally, reset to the latest version with

   $ git reset --hard <version-tag>
   

3. Run

   $ ./makenew.sh
   

   This will replace the boilerplate, delete itself, remove the git remote, remove upstream tags, and stage changes for commit.
4. Create the required GitHub repository secrets.
5. Review, commit, and push the changes to GitHub with

   $ git diff --cached
   $ git commit -m "Replace makenew boilerplate"
   $ git remote add origin git@github.com:<user>/<new-node-app>.git
   $ git push -u origin main
   

6. Ensure the GitHub action passes, then publish the initial version of the package with

   $ nvm install
   $ npm install
   $ npm version patch
   

Updating from this skeleton

If you want to pull in future updates from this skeleton, you can fetch and merge in changes from this repository.

Add this as a new remote with

$ git remote add upstream git@github.com:makenew/nodejs-server.git

You can then fetch and merge changes with

$ git fetch --no-tags upstream
$ git merge upstream/main

Changelog for this skeleton

Note that CHANGELOG.md is just a template for this skeleton. The actual changes for this project are documented in the commit history and summarized under Releases.

Usage

From Docker

The application is distributed as a Docker container. Start the server inside a container with

$ docker run --init --read-only --publish 8080:8080 ghcr.io/makenew/nodejs-server

From npx

The server is included in the published npm package and may be run using npx with

$ npx @makenew/nodejs-server --production

From source

Download a release and extract the source code. Then install the production dependencies and start the server with

$ npm ci --omit=dev
$ npm start:production

Installation

This app is also published as a package on npm. Add this as a dependency to your project using npm with

$ npm install @makenew/nodejs-server

Development and Testing

Quickstart

$ git clone https://github.com/makenew/nodejs-server.git
$ cd nodejs-server
$ nvm install
$ npm install

Run each command below in a separate terminal window:

$ npm start
$ npm run test:watch

Primary development tasks are defined under scripts in package.json and available via npm run. View them with

$ npm run

Source code

The source code is hosted on GitHub. Clone the project with

$ git clone git@github.com:makenew/nodejs-server.git

Requirements

You will need Node.js with npm and a Node.js debugging client.

Be sure that all commands run under the correct Node version, e.g., if using nvm, install the correct version with

$ nvm install

Set the active version for each shell session with

$ nvm use

Install the development dependencies with

$ npm install

Smoke tests

Any test file ending in .test.js is a smoke test and runs separately from tests ending in .spec.js. A smoke test verifies the server passes certain external checks. During the GitHub Actions check, the Docker container is built and started, then the smoke tests make requests to the server in a separate process.

To run the smoke tests locally, first start the test server with

$ npm start:test

and then in a separate terminal, run the smoke tests with

$ npm test:smoke

Publishing

Use the npm version command to release a new version. This will push a new git tag which will trigger a GitHub action.

Publishing may be triggered using a workflow_dispatch on GitHub Actions.

GitHub Actions

GitHub Actions should already be configured: this section is for reference only.

The following repository secrets must be set on GitHub Actions:

• NPM_TOKEN: npm token for installing and publishing packages.
• GH_USER: The GitHub user's username to pull and push containers.
• GH_TOKEN: A personal access token for the user to pull and push containers.

These must be set manually.

Secrets for Optional GitHub Actions

The version and format GitHub actions require a user with write access to the repository including access to read, write, and delete packages. Set these additional secrets to enable the action:

• GH_TOKEN: A personal access token for the user.
• GIT_USER_NAME: The GitHub user's real name.
• GIT_USER_EMAIL: The GitHub user's email.
• GPG_PRIVATE_KEY: The GitHub user's GPG private key.
• GPG_PASSPHRASE: The GitHub user's GPG passphrase.

Contributing

Please submit and comment on bug reports and feature requests.

To submit a patch:

1. Fork it (https://github.com/makenew/nodejs-server/fork).
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b my-new-feature).
3. Make changes.
4. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add some feature').
5. Push to the branch (git push origin my-new-feature).
6. Create a new Pull Request.

License

This app is licensed under the MIT license.

Warranty

This software is provided by the copyright holders and contributors "as is" and any express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed. In no event shall the copyright holder or contributors be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement of substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this software, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.