Express API Builder

Express API Builder generates well-structured Express.js applications following the router-controller-service pattern. It produces maintainable, testable code with a complete middleware stack ready for production.

Architecture Pattern

The skill enforces a clean separation: Routes define endpoints and apply middleware, Controllers handle HTTP request/response, Services contain business logic, and Repositories abstract data access. This makes testing each layer in isolation straightforward.

Middleware Stack

Generated apps include: helmet for security headers, cors with configurable origins, express-rate-limit for API throttling, morgan for request logging, and a global error handler that normalizes errors into consistent JSON responses.

Authentication

JWT auth middleware with access + refresh token pattern. Refresh tokens are stored with expiry and rotation on use. Supports both Bearer token and cookie-based token delivery.

Validation

Request validation using Zod schemas co-located with routes. Schema inference generates TypeScript types automatically. Validation errors return RFC 7807 Problem Details responses.

Documentation

JSDoc annotations on routes feed swagger-jsdoc to auto-generate OpenAPI 3.1 specs. Swagger UI is mounted at /api-docs in development mode.