Node.js Learning Starter

This project is designed for someone coming from a React Native background and learning backend basics with Node.js.

Project Structure

learning-node/
├─ src/
│  ├─ app.js                    # App setup (middleware + routes)
│  ├─ server.js                 # Server bootstrap
│  ├─ config/
│  │  └─ env.js                 # Environment variable config
│  ├─ db/
│  │  ├─ mysql.js                # Raw MySQL connection pool
│  │  └─ schema.sql              # Raw SQL table setup
│  ├─ routes/
│  │  ├─ index.js               # Route aggregator
│  │  └─ health.routes.js       # Health check route
│  │  └─ users.routes.js        # User CRUD routes
│  ├─ controllers/
│  │  └─ health.controller.js   # Controller logic
│  │  └─ users.controller.js    # User CRUD controllers
│  ├─ services/
│  │  └─ health.service.js      # Business logic layer
│  │  └─ users.service.js       # MySQL user CRUD logic
│  ├─ middlewares/
│  │  └─ error.middleware.js    # Global error handling
│  └─ utils/
│     └─ api-response.js        # Shared response helper
├─ docs/
│  └─ learning-path.md          # Suggested topic roadmap
├─ .env.example
├─ .gitignore
└─ package.json

Setup

1. Install dependencies:

   npm install

2. Create your env file:

   cp .env.example .env

3. Create MySQL database:

   • Database name: learning_node
   • Default connection in .env.example: mysql://root:password@localhost:3306/learning_node

   Install MySQL (one time):

   brew install mysql

   Start MySQL service:

   npm run db:up

   Create DB user and database (first time only):

   mysql -u root -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS learning_node;"
   mysql -u root -e "ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password'; FLUSH PRIVILEGES;"

4. Create tables with raw SQL:

   mysql -u root -p learning_node < src/db/schema.sql

5. Start in dev mode:

   npm run dev

6. Test endpoint:

   • GET http://localhost:5001/api/health

CRUD Endpoints (Users)

• GET http://localhost:5001/api/users
• GET http://localhost:5001/api/users/:id
• POST http://localhost:5001/api/users
• PATCH http://localhost:5001/api/users/:id
• DELETE http://localhost:5001/api/users/:id

Example create payload:

{
  "name": "Alex",
  "email": "alex@example.com"
}

Example fetch users:

curl http://localhost:5001/api/users

Common DB Error

If you get ECONNREFUSED, your app cannot reach MySQL.

Quick fix:

1. Start DB: npm run db:up
2. Ensure DB exists: mysql -u root -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS learning_node;"
3. Ensure .env has: DATABASE_URL=mysql://root:password@localhost:3306/learning_node
4. Create tables again: mysql -u root -p learning_node < src/db/schema.sql

Why this structure?

• Familiar separation similar to React Native feature layers.
• Clear distinction between routes, controllers, and services.
• Easy to scale from a small learning app to production patterns.