Quick Start Guide

This guide will walk you through creating your first Express.js project with Cepress Generator. You'll have a fully functional API with authentication and documentation in under 5 minutes.

Step 1: Create Your Project

Run the Cepress Generator command and follow the interactive prompts:

Create new project 
npx create-cepress-app my-api

Interactive Configuration

You'll be asked several questions to configure your project:

?
Pilih database:
  • • SQLite (default — quick setup)
  • • PostgreSQL (production ready)
  • • MySQL (popular choice)
?
Gunakan Prisma sebagai ORM?

Type-safe database client (recommended for PostgreSQL/MySQL)

?
Pilih autentikasi:
  • • Tanpa Auth
  • • JWT Auth (Register/Login with password hashing)
?
Pilih API documentation:
  • • Tidak pakai Swagger
  • • Swagger (OpenAPI 3.0 docs)
?
Pilih contoh model:
  • • User + Post (with relationships)
  • • Kosong (blank project)

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Navigate to your project directory and install the dependencies:

Install dependencies 
cd my-api
npm install

Step 3: Configure Environment

Copy the example environment file and configure your settings:

Copy environment file 
cp .env.example .env

Edit the .env file with your configuration:

.env configuration 
# Server Configuration
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development

# Database (SQLite example)
DATABASE_URL=file:./dev.db

# JWT Secret (change this!)
JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-jwt-key

# For Prisma (if selected)
# DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb"

Step 4: Set Up Database (If Using Prisma)

If you selected Prisma, run the initial migration:

Run database migration 
npx prisma migrate dev --name init

Step 5: Start Development Server

Start your API server:

Start development server 
npm run dev

Your API will be available at http://localhost:3000

Step 6: Test Your API

✅ Basic Endpoints

  • GET / - Welcome message
  • GET /health - Health check
  • GET /api - API info

🔐 Auth Endpoints (if enabled)

  • POST /api/auth/register
  • POST /api/auth/login
  • GET /api/auth/profile

Test with curl

Test API endpoints 
# Test basic endpoint
curl http://localhost:3000/

# Test API info
curl http://localhost:3000/api

# Register a new user (if auth is enabled)
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/auth/register   -H "Content-Type: application/json"   -d '{"email": "test@example.com", "password": "password123"}'

Step 7: Explore API Documentation

If you enabled Swagger documentation, visit:

📚 Swagger UI

http://localhost:3000/api-docs

Interactive API documentation where you can test endpoints directly in the browser.

Next Steps

🏗️ Build Your Models

Add custom models to src/models/ and create corresponding routes in src/routes/.

🔒 Secure Your API

Add middleware for rate limiting, CORS configuration, and request validation.

🚀 Deploy

Deploy to Heroku, Vercel, Railway, or any Node.js hosting platform.

🎉

Congratulations!

You now have a production-ready Express.js API with modern tooling. Explore the generated code to understand the project structure and customize it for your needs.