How should I structure a Node.js project?
By feature, not by file type. A 'user' feature has its routes, controllers, and models together. This keeps related code findable as the project grows, instead of scattering it across folders by type.
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More FAQs in Best Practices for Node.js Project Setup
Run npm init for package.json, add scripts for common commands, use .gitignore for node_modules and .env, use environment variables with dotenv, structure files by feature, separate config from code, and install nodemon for development.
To standardize how the team runs the app. Add scripts like 'start' and 'dev', and run them with npm start or npm run dev. This means everyone runs the same commands, instead of each remembering long commands.
node_modules and .env at minimum. node_modules is large and reproducible from package.json, so never commit it. .env contains secrets, so never commit it either. Both cause real problems.
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