Getting Started with PEST.js

Complete guide to generate your first Node.js project using PEST.js framework.

Prerequisites

Node.js v16 or higher
npm or yarn
Git

Step 1: Run the Framework

# Navigate to framework directory
cd pest.js

# Run the framework
./pestjs

Step 2: Follow the Prompts

The framework will ask for:

Project name (default: pestjs-app): my-api
GitHub username (default: your-username): yourusername

Step 3: Navigate to Generated Project

# Navigate to your project
cd my-api

# Install dependencies
npm install

Step 4: Start Development

# Start development server
npm run dev

Your server will be running at http://localhost:3000

Generated Files Overview

package.json

{
  "name": "my-api",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node dist/app.js",
    "dev": "nodemon --exec ts-node src/app.ts",
    "build": "tsc",
    "test": "jest",
    "lint": "eslint . --ext .ts"
  }
}

src/app.ts

import express from 'express';
import cors from 'cors';
import helmet from 'helmet';

const app = express();

app.use(helmet());
app.use(cors());
app.use(express.json());

app.get('/', (_, res) => {
  res.json({
    message: 'Welcome to my-api API',
    version: '1.0.0'
  });
});

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`);
});

Available Scripts

npm run dev - Start development server with hot reload
npm run build - Build TypeScript to JavaScript
npm start - Start production server
npm test - Run Jest tests
npm run lint - Run ESLint

Project Structure

my-api/
├── src/
│   ├── app.ts              # Main application
│   ├── config/             # Configuration files
│   ├── features/           # Feature modules
│   ├── middleware/         # Custom middleware
│   ├── utils/              # Utility functions
│   └── types/              # TypeScript types
├── tests/                  # Test files
├── package.json            # Dependencies
├── tsconfig.json           # TypeScript config
├── .eslintrc.json          # ESLint config
└── .env                    # Environment variables

Adding Features

Create a New Route

// src/features/users/routes/users.ts
import { Router } from 'express';

const router = Router();

router.get('/', (_, res) => {
  res.json({ users: [] });
});

export default router;

Add Middleware

// src/middleware/auth.ts
import { Request, Response, NextFunction } from 'express';

export const authMiddleware = (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
  // Authentication logic
  next();
};

Testing

// src/__tests__/app.test.ts
import request from 'supertest';
import express from 'express';

const app = express();

app.get('/', (_, res) => {
  res.json({ message: 'Welcome to API' });
});

describe('App', () => {
  it('should return welcome message', async () => {
    const response = await request(app).get('/');
    expect(response.status).toBe(200);
    expect(response.body.message).toContain('Welcome');
  });
});

Environment Configuration

# .env
NODE_ENV=development
PORT=3000

Git Integration

The framework automatically:

Initializes git repository
Creates initial commit
Sets up .gitignore

git status
git log --oneline

Next Steps

Add Routes: Create new API endpoints
Database: Integrate with MongoDB, PostgreSQL, etc.
Authentication: Add JWT or session-based auth
Testing: Write unit and integration tests
Deployment: Deploy to Heroku, Vercel, or AWS

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Port already in use:

# Change port in .env
PORT=3001

TypeScript errors:

# Check tsconfig.json
npm run build

ESLint errors:

# Fix linting issues
npm run lint -- --fix

Framework Benefits

Fast Setup: Generate projects in seconds
Type Safety: Full TypeScript support
Testing Ready: Jest configuration included
Code Quality: ESLint setup
Git Ready: Automatic repository initialization
Minimal Dependencies: Only essential packages