Trove — AI-ready CLI for scaffolding production Node.js backends (Express, NestJS, Fastify, Koa)

[Akshay1018]

Hi everyone!
I’m building Trove, an open-source CLI that scaffolds production-minded Node.js backends for Express, NestJS, Fastify, and Koa.
It generates a clean project structure and lets you choose the pieces you actually need:

• Database (MongoDB / PostgreSQL / MySQL, or skip)
• Authentication (JWT, session, OAuth, or skip)
• Testing (Jest)
• CI/CD (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Bitbucket Pipelines)
• Docker, TypeScript, ESLint/Prettier, Swagger/OpenAPI, and security defaults (Helmet, rate limiting, CORS, validation)

The goal is simple: stop repeating the same 60–90 minutes of boilerplate every time you start a new service.

What’s different right now

Trove is evolving from a traditional scaffolder into an AI-ready backend platform:

• Natural-language project planning — describe the backend you want in plain English; Trove turns it into a structured, validated project plan grounded in the features it actually supports
• AI-assisted stack recommendation with compatibility checks before generation
• Verified generation — deterministic templates + post-generation build/test validation
• Planned: Model Context Protocol (MCP) support so AI coding agents can call Trove’s generation and validation tools directly
• Planned: self-repair workflow (bounded, approval-gated fixes) and a headless generation API

The classic interactive / flag-based CLI remains fully supported and will stay that way. AI features are additive and optional.

I’d love feedback from people who ship Node.js services

1. What setup work do you still find most repetitive when starting a backend?
2. What would make a generated starter project genuinely useful (vs. something you immediately rewrite)?
3. Would natural-language planning + MCP integration be valuable in your workflow, or do you prefer pure CLI/flags?
4. Any stack combinations or security/CI patterns you wish every scaffold included by default?

Repository: https://github.com/Akshay1018/trove

The project is still evolving — check the README for current usage, supported options, and the AI-native roadmap. There’s also an open Ideas discussion on the natural-language / MCP direction if you want to dig deeper.

Stars, forks, issues, and honest feedback are all very welcome. Thanks for taking a look!