DAY 6 BackEnd

🗂️ Setting Up Files and Folders for a Node.js + MongoDB Project

When starting a backend project using Node.js and MongoDB, having a clear file and folder structure is key to keeping your code organized, readable, and scalable. In this post, we’ll walk through setting up the basic structure for a clean and maintainable project.

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📁 Step 1: Project Initialization

First, create your project folder and initialize it:

mkdir video-tube-backend
cd video-tube-backend
npm init -y

This creates a package.json file which stores project metadata and dependencies.

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🧠 Step 2: Create the Entry Point

In the root of the project, create:

touch index.js

This will be the main file that starts your server (we’ll wire it up in the next blog).

🏗️ Step 3: Folder & File Structure

Here’s the recommended structure:

video-tube-backend/
│
├── src/
│   ├── db/
│   │   └── index.js          // Handles MongoDB connection
│   ├── constants.js          // Stores reusable constants like DB name
│   └── app.js                // Express app setup 
│
├── .env                      // Environment variables
├── index.js                  // Entry point of the application
├── .gitignore                //Prevents certain files/folders from being pushed to GitHub.
├── package.json              // Project config and dependencies
└── README.md                 // Optional: Project overview

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🏗️ Step 4: Folder Structure

Create a professional src folder structure like this:

src/
├── controllers/
├── db/
├── middleware/
├── models/
├── routes/
├── utils/
├── app.js
├── constants.js

Each folder has a clear responsibility:

• controllers/ → Handle business logic

• db/ → Database connection

• middleware/ → Custom Express middleware

• models/ → Mongoose or other data models

• routes/ → API route definitions

• utils/ → Helper functions/utilities

• app.js → Express app setup

• constants.js → Reusable constants like DB name

At this stage, don’t create any files inside these folders yet. Just set up the structure.

🧽 Step 5 : Setup .gitignore

Create a .gitignore file to ignore unnecessary files in version control. You can generate one from gitignore.io:

Here’s a common one:

# Node
node_modules/
.env
.DS_Store

# Logs
logs
*.log
npm-debug.log*

# Editor settings
.vscode/
.idea/

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📄 Step 6 : Use Modern import Syntax

To enable import/export (ES Modules) instead of require, update your package.json:

{
"type": "module"
}

This tells Node.js to treat your project as an ES module system.

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🧰 Step 7 : Install Dev Tools ✅

Install development dependencies to help with productivity:

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Run the following command to install development dependencies:

npm install -D nodemon prettier

📦 Dev Tools Explained:

• nodemon: Automatically restarts your server when code changes are detected.

• prettier: Automatically formats your code to maintain consistency.

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⚙️ Create a Prettier Configuration File

Create a file named .prettierrc in the root of your project and add the following:

{
  "semi": true,
  "singleQuote": true,
  "printWidth": 80
}

This config will:

• Add semicolons (semi: true)

• Use single quotes instead of double quotes (singleQuote: true)

• Wrap lines longer than 80 characters (printWidth: 80)

Set up done.✅✅✅

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wait for Day 7 to connect DataBase.

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