Welcome to the Express Postgres Starter project! This guide will walk you through setting up a Node.js application using Express and Postgres with Docker, and ensure you have a solid foundation for building and managing your web application. Let’s get rolling!

Setup Prerequisites

• Ensure you have Docker for Desktop installed on your machine.

Launching the Application

To start your application, follow these steps:

1. Open your terminal and navigate to the root of your project.
2. Run the following command:

docker-compose up

3. This command will initiate Docker, bringing up both Postgres and the Express application server.
4. By default, the application will be accessible via localhost:3000. You can change this by modifying the first 3000 in 3000:3000 within the .docker-compose.yaml file.
5. Postgres can be accessed through port 35432. Your connection string will look like this: postgres:user:pass@localhost:35432/db (where username, password, and database name are defined in the .docker-compose.yaml).
6. To connect to Postgres using the psql client, run:

sh
psql postgres:user:pass@localhost:35432/db

Understanding Application Behavior

The default command for the Docker container is to run npm start. However, the .docker-compose.yaml file overrides this to npm run dev, which uses nodemon for auto-restarting the app upon code changes. This keeps the development flow smooth and efficient.

Setting Up the Express API

Your Express API resides within the .src/api directory. Here’s a brief overview of how it’s structured:

• Application routes for resources are defined in .src/api/index.js.
• Global concerns such as security, cookie parsing, body parsing, and request logging are handled in .server.js.

This application loosely follows the Presentation Domain Data Layering principle, where:

• Presentation logic is located in the src/api folder.
• Domain logic is intended to be in the src/modules folder, which is currently non-existent since we only have generic user and session resources.
• Data persistence is handled in the src/persistence folder.

Database Setup and Management

To manage your database effectively, you can use the following commands:

• Run migrations: npm run migrate up
• Roll back migrations: npm run migrate down
• Create a new migration file: npm run migrate:create migration-name (this will generate a file in .src/migrations).

To run migrations inside the Docker container, execute:

sh
docker-compose run app bash
npm run migrate up

Session Management and Authentication

Session management is achieved through a custom sessions table and the .src/api/session.js file, leveraging client-sessions for authentication.

Troubleshooting

Should you encounter any issues while setting up the project, here are a few recommendations:

• If you face connectivity issues with Postgres, check to ensure Docker is running properly and your ports are correctly mapped in the .docker-compose.yaml file.
• For any problems related to the Express server not starting, ensure that the dependencies are correctly installed by running npm install.
• If migrations are failing to create or run, review your migration files for any syntax errors and confirm that your database connection is established.
• For more insights, updates, or to collaborate on AI development projects, stay connected with fxis.ai.

Final Thoughts

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