Folder structure for a Node js project

Question

I notice that Node js projects often include folders like these       libs   vendor   support   spec   tests   What exactly do these mean  What s the different between them  and where should I include referenced code

User · Answer

More example from my project architecture you can see here:

+-- Dockerfile
+-- README.md
+-- config
¦   +-- production.json
+-- package.json
+-- schema
¦   +-- create-db.sh
¦   +-- db.sql
+-- scripts
¦   +-- deploy-production.sh 
+-- src
¦   +-- app -> Containes API routes
¦   +-- db -> DB Models (ORM)
¦   +-- server.js -> the Server initlializer.
+-- test

Basically, the logical app separated to DB and APP folders inside the SRC dir.

User · Answer

Concerning the folders you mentioned     libs is usually used for custom classes functions modules  vendor or  support contains 3rd party libraries  added as git sub-module when using git as source control   spec contains specifications for BDD tests   tests contains the unit-tests for an application  using a testing framework  see here    NOTE  both  vendor and  support are deprecated since NPM introduced a clean package management  It s recommended to handle all 3rd-party dependencies using NPM and a package json file  When building a rather large application  I recommend the following additional folders  especially if you are using some kind of MVC-   ORM-Framework like express or mongoose      models contains all your ORM models  called Schemas in mongoose   views contains your view-templates  using any templating language supported in express   public contains all static content  images  style-sheets  client-side JavaScript     assets images contains image files  assets pdf contains static pdf files  css contains style sheets  or compiled output by a css engine   js contains client side JavaScript   controllers contain all your express routes  separated by module area of your application  note  when using the bootstrapping functionality of express  this folder is called  routes    I got used to organize my projects this way and i think it works out pretty well   Update for CoffeeScript-based Express applications  using connect-assets      app contains your compiled JavaScript  assets  contains all client-side assets that require compilation    assets js contains your client-side CoffeeScript files  assets css contains all your LESS Stylus style-sheets   public  js css img  contains your static files that are not handled by any compilers  src contains all your server-side specific CoffeeScript files  test contains all unit testing scripts  implemented using a testing-framework of your choice   views contains all your express views  be it jade  ejs or any other templating engine

User · Answer

There is a discussion on GitHub because of a question similar to this one  https   gist github com 1398757  You can use other projects for guidance  search in GitHub for    ThreeNodes js - in my opinion  seems to have a specific structure not suitable for every project  lighter - an more simple structure  but lacks a bit of organization    And finally  in a book  http   shop oreilly com product 0636920025344 do  suggests this structure    -- index html  -- js        -- main js       -- models        -- views        -- collections        -- templates        -- libs            -- backbone            -- underscore            --      -- css   --

User · Answer

It s important to note that there s no consensus on what s the best approach and related frameworks in general do not enforce nor reward certain structures   I find this to be a frustrating and huge overhead but equally important  It is sort of a downplayed version  but IMO more important  of the style guide issue  I like to point this out because the answer is the same  it doesn t matter what structure you use as long as it s well defined and coherent   So I d propose to look for a comprehensive guide that you like and make it clear that the project is based on this   It s not easy  especially if you re new to this  Expect to spend hours researching  You ll find most guides recommending an MVC-like structure  While several years ago that might have been a solid choice  nowadays that s not necessarily the case  For example here s another approach

User · Answer

Assuming we are talking about web applications and building APIs   One approach is to categorize files by feature  much like what a micro service architecture would look like  The biggest win in my opinion is that it is super easy to see which files relate to a feature of the application    The best way to illustrate is through an example     We are developing a library application  In the first version of the application  a user can    Search for books and see metadata of books  Search for authors and see their books   In a second version  users can also    Create an account and log in Loan borrow books   In a third version  users can also     Save a list of books they want to read mark favorites     First we have the following structure    books    - controllers         - booksController js         - authorsController js         - entities        - book js        - author js   We then add on the user and loan features   user    - controllers         - userController js    - entities         - user js    - middleware         - authentication js loan    - controllers         - loanController js    - entities        - loan js   And then the favorites functionality   favorites    - controllers         - favoritesController js    - entities        - favorite js   For any new developer that gets handed the task to add on that the books search should also return information if any book have been marked as favorite  it s really easy to see where in the code he she should look   Then when the product owner sweeps in and exclaims that the favorites feature should be removed completely  it s easy to remove it

User · Answer

This is indirect answer  on the folder structure itself  very related   A few years ago I had same question  took a folder structure but had to do a lot directory moving later on  because the folder was meant for a different purpose than that I have read on internet  that is  what a particular folder does has different meanings for different people on some folders   Now  having done multiple projects  in addition to explanation in all other answers  on the folder structure itself  I would strongly suggest to follow the structure of Node js itself  which can be seen at  https   github com nodejs node  It has great detail on all  say linters and others  what file and folder structure they have and where  Some folders have a README that explains what is in that folder   Starting in above structure is good because some day a new requirement comes in and but you will have a scope to improve as it is already followed by Node js itself which is maintained over many years now   Hope this helps

[node.js] Folder structure for a Node.js project

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