Modules Overview

How modules work

A generated project is built from modules. Each module adds its own template files, npm dependencies, scripts, and environment variables. Only the modules you select are added.

Available Modules

Backend

Express server with TypeScript, routing, and middleware. Used by every Backend API project

Frontend

Next.js 16 or TanStack Start with React 19 and Tailwind CSS v4. Chosen in the full-stack framework prompt

Database

PostgreSQL (Prisma or Drizzle) or MongoDB (Mongoose). Chosen in two prompts: database, then ORM

Auth

JWT + bcrypt for Express, Better Auth for Next.js and TanStack Start (requires a database)

Docker

Multi-stage Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml. Available for every app type

How Modules Are Selected

Your prompt answers decide which modules are added:

Prompt answer	Module(s) activated
App type = `backend`	Express base module
App type = `fullstack` + framework = `nextjs`	Next.js base module
App type = `fullstack` + framework = `tanstack`	TanStack Start base module
Database = `postgresql` + ORM = `prisma`	Prisma module for the chosen framework
Database = `postgresql` + ORM = `drizzle`	Drizzle module for the chosen framework
Database = `mongodb` + ORM = `mongoose`	Mongoose module (Express, Next.js, TanStack)
Auth = `yes` (Express)	JWT auth module
Auth = `yes` (Next.js / TanStack, database selected)	Better Auth module
Docker = `yes`	Docker module

Better Auth is only prompted for Next.js and TanStack Start projects when a database has been selected. If database type is none, auth is skipped automatically.

How Module Merging Works

Each module has a config.json. When you select several modules, the CLI merges them:

Dependencies: merged into a single package.json
Scripts: merged, so each module can add its own scripts
Environment variables: merged into .env.example / .env
Template files: each module's files are copied into the project

Example: Express + PostgreSQL + Prisma + JWT Auth

The final package.json will include:

{
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^5.2.1",
    "cors": "^2.8.6",
    "cross-env": "^10.1.0",
    "helmet": "^8.3.0",
    "morgan": "^1.12.0",
    "dotenv": "^17.4.2",
    "@prisma/client": "^7.10.0",
    "bcrypt": "^6.0.0",
    "jsonwebtoken": "^9.0.3"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "cross-env NODE_ENV=development tsx watch src/index.ts",
    "build": "tsc",
    "start": "cross-env NODE_ENV=production node dist/index.js",
    "lint": "eslint src",
    "format": "prettier --write \"src/**/*.ts\"",
    "type:check": "tsc --noEmit",
    "prisma:generate": "prisma generate",
    "prisma:migrate": "prisma migrate dev",
    "prisma:studio": "prisma studio",
    "prebuild": "prisma generate"
  }
}

Module Availability Matrix

Module	Backend (Express)	Backend (NestJS)	Full-stack (Next.js)	Full-stack (TanStack)
Express base	Always	-	-	-
NestJS base	-	Always	-	-
Next.js base	-	-	Always	-
TanStack base	-	-	-	Always
PostgreSQL + Prisma	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PostgreSQL + Drizzle	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MongoDB + Mongoose	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
JWT Auth	Yes	Yes	-	-
Better Auth	-	-	Yes (requires DB)	Yes (requires DB)
Docker	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Extending After Generation

All generated code is plain TypeScript, so you can edit any file.

Adding to the backend

New routes -> src/routes/
New middleware -> src/middleware/
New controllers -> src/controllers/

Adding to the frontend

Next.js: new pages -> app/, API routes -> app/api/, components -> components/
TanStack Start: new routes -> src/routes/ (Vite regenerates src/routeTree.gen.ts during dev/build), server functions -> createServerFn, components -> src/components/

Adding to the database

Prisma: edit prisma/schema.prisma, then run npm run prisma:migrate
Drizzle: edit lib/schema.ts (Next.js) or src/lib/schema.ts (Express, TanStack Start), then run npm run db:generate && npm run db:migrate
Mongoose: add new model files to src/models/ (models/ in Next.js)

Backend

Frontend

Database

Auth

Docker

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