BackGen

🤖 AI-Ready

BackGen ships a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that AI assistants (Claude, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, VS Code) can use to scaffold projects on your behalf.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "backgen": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ibrahimkhaled19/backgen", "backgen-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Available MCP tools:

Tool	Description
init_project	Scaffold a new production-ready backend project with chosen ORM, preset, and plugins
add_plugin	Install a plugin (jwt, clerk, stripe, s3, ratelimit, ci-github, dependabot, codeql, docker-registry, release)
remove_plugin	Remove a previously installed plugin
generate_resource	Generate a CRUD resource with fields, relations, validation, and Swagger
generate_seed	Generate a database seed file for a resource
generate_factory	Generate a test factory for a resource
doctor	Validate an existing BackGen project for configuration issues
list_plugins	List all available plugins with descriptions
list_presets	List all available domain presets
project_info	Show project metadata from the manifest

Then just ask: "Scaffold a SaaS backend with Prisma, JWT auth, and Stripe payments"

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<img width="1600" height="900" alt="BackGen CLI generating Express.js backend with Prisma, Drizzle, and Mongoose — Swagger docs, Docker, auth, and multi-tenant SaaS preset" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/cd3888d3-fa9d-4e4e-a595-4f10ae039871" />

Generate production-ready backend foundations so developers can focus on business logic, not boilerplate.

BackGen is a CLI tool that generates complete Express.js backend projects on Prisma, Drizzle, or Mongoose — with authentication, multi-tenant infrastructure, production hardening, Docker, and testing — all working out of the box.

npx @ibrahimkhaled19/backgen init my-api --orm drizzle
cd my-api
npm run dev

Swagger docs at http://localhost:3000/docs in under 60 seconds. Pick your ORM, keep everything else.

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Features

• Express + TypeScript — strict mode, ESLint 9 (flat config), Vitest
• Multi-ORM — Prisma, Drizzle, or Mongoose. Pick at init time, switch later via the manifest
• SaaS-ready — saas-core preset ships Organizations, Memberships, Invitations, RBAC, tenant-scoped queries
• Hardened by default — helmet, strict CORS, request ID, request timeout, xss + mongo-sanitize, graceful shutdown, /health + /ready, error envelope
• Plugin System — JWT, Clerk, Stripe, S3, ratelimit via backgen add
• Resource Generator — CRUD modules with relations, validation, Swagger
• Domain Presets — saas-core, healthcare, SaaS, ecommerce, CRM, LMS — full domain in one command
• Seed & Factory Generators — development data and test factories
• Docker — multi-stage Dockerfile + docker-compose
• Swagger/OpenAPI — auto-generated API documentation
• Manifest — .backgenrc.json tracks ORM, plugins, versions, and ownership for upgrade/rollback

---

Quick Start

# Install globally
npm install -g @ibrahimkhaled19/backgen

# Create a project (pick your ORM)
backgen init my-api --orm prisma
backgen init my-api --orm drizzle
backgen init my-api --orm mongoose

# Create a full multi-tenant domain
backgen init my-saas --preset saas-core --defaults

# Add authentication
backgen add jwt
backgen add clerk

# Add production hardening
backgen add ratelimit

# Generate a resource
backgen generate resource Product name:string price:number stock:number

# Start developing
cd my-api
npm run dev

---

Commands

backgen init [name]

Generate a new backend project.

backgen init my-api                              # interactive ORM picker
backgen init my-api --orm prisma                 # explicit ORM
backgen init my-api --orm drizzle --defaults     # Drizzle, non-interactive
backgen init my-api --orm mongoose --skip-install
backgen init my-api --preset saas-core --defaults   # full multi-tenant domain
backgen init my-api --preset healthcare            # healthcare domain

Output:

• Express app with TypeScript strict mode
• ORM-specific data layer (Prisma / Drizzle / Mongoose)
• Environment validation (Zod)
• Swagger/OpenAPI documentation
• Docker + docker-compose
• Hardened by default: helmet, CORS, request ID, timeout, xss + mongo-sanitize, graceful shutdown, health checks
• ESLint 9 + Vitest
• .backgenrc.json manifest (records project.orm + plugins)

No auth by default — choose your auth provider with backgen add.

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backgen add [plugin]

Install a plugin. Interactive multi-select if no argument.

backgen add                 # interactive multi-select
backgen add jwt             # JWT authentication
backgen add clerk           # Clerk auth-as-a-service
backgen add stripe          # Stripe payments
backgen add s3              # AWS S3 storage
backgen add ratelimit       # Per-IP / per-user rate limiting
backgen add devops          # Install all devops plugins at once

Available Plugins:

Plugin	Category	Description
jwt	auth	JWT authentication with refresh tokens
clerk	auth	Clerk auth-as-a-service (conflicts with jwt)
stripe	payment	Stripe checkout, webhooks, customers
s3	storage	AWS S3 upload, download, presigned URLs
ratelimit	production	Per-IP rate limiting with Redis-ready store
ci-github	devops	GitHub Actions CI pipeline (lint, typecheck, test, build, optional deploy)
dependabot	devops	Automated dependency updates via Dependabot
codeql	devops	CodeQL security analysis on push and schedule
docker-registry	devops	Docker image build and publish to GHCR
release	devops	Semantic release with npm publish and GitHub releases

Conflict detection: jwt and clerk cannot be installed together.

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Domain Presets

Generate a complete domain in one command. Each preset creates multiple resources with relations, auto-installs JWT auth, and wires everything together.

backgen init my-api --preset healthcare
backgen init my-api --preset saas --defaults

healthcare

Patient, Doctor, Appointment, Prescription, MedicalRecord — appointments between patients and doctors, prescriptions linked to patients, medical records per patient.

saas

Organization, Team, Membership, Subscription, Invoice — organizations with teams and memberships, subscriptions with invoices.

ecommerce

Category, Product, Cart, Order, OrderItem, Payment — products in categories, carts with items, orders with line items and payments.

crm

Contact, Company, Deal, Activity — companies with contacts, deals tracked through pipeline, activity logging.

lms

Course, Lesson, Enrollment, Progress, Certificate — courses with lessons, student enrollments, progress tracking, certificates.

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backgen remove [plugin]

Remove a plugin. Interactive multi-select if no argument. Supports devops shorthand to remove all devops plugins.

backgen remove              # interactive multi-select
backgen remove stripe       # remove specific plugin
backgen remove devops       # remove all devops plugins

---

backgen generate resource <name> [fields...]

Generate a CRUD resource module.

# Interactive
backgen generate resource Product

# Non-interactive
backgen generate resource Product name:string price:number stock:number

# With relations
backgen generate resource Appointment date:datetime status:string \
  --relations "doctor:Doctor,patient:Patient"

# With --fields flag
backgen generate resource Product --fields "name:string,price:number"

Generated files:

src/modules/product/
  product.controller.ts    # CRUD endpoints
  product.service.ts       # business logic
  product.repository.ts    # database operations
  product.validation.ts    # Zod schemas
  product.types.ts         # TypeScript interfaces
  product.routes.ts        # route definitions + Swagger
  product.test.ts          # test placeholder

Field types: string, number, boolean, date, datetime

Relations: doctor:Doctor (belongsTo), patients:Patient (hasMany)

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backgen generate seed <resource>

Generate seed data for development.

backgen generate seed Product --count 10

Output: prisma/seeds/product.ts (Prisma), db/seeds/product.ts (Drizzle), or seeds/product.ts (Mongoose)

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backgen generate factory <resource>

Generate a test factory.

backgen generate factory Product

Output: src/factories/product.factory.ts

Usage:

import { createProduct } from "./factories/product.factory.js";
const product = await createProduct({ name: "Widget" });

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backgen generate migration [name]

Generate a database migration (ORM-aware).

backgen generate migration add-product-table   # runs prisma migrate dev / drizzle-kit generate / no-op for Mongoose

---

backgen sync

Reconcile .backgenrc.json with the project. Regenerates missing plugin files.

backgen sync

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backgen health

Show system health information.

backgen health

Displays:

• Node.js version
• Platform and architecture
• BackGen version

---

backgen doctor

Check project health with ownership integrity diagnostics.

backgen doctor              # health check + ownership audit
backgen doctor --fix        # auto-fix missing manifest entries

Checks:

• Node.js version (>= 18)
• npm availability
• .env file
• DATABASE_URL
• Prisma schema / Drizzle config / Mongoose connection
• Dependencies
• Package manager version
• File integrity — all manifest-tracked files exist on disk
• Ownership integrity — framework vs user file classification

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backgen upgrade

Upgrade a generated project to the latest template version. Creates a backup, then applies pending migrations sequentially.

backgen upgrade              # show pending migrations, prompt before applying
backgen upgrade --yes        # skip confirmation, apply all pending

What happens:

• Reads current generatedVersion from .backgenrc.json
• Loads pending core + plugin migrations
• Creates backup in .backgen/backups/pre-<version>/
• Applies migrations in order (semver-sorted)
• Updates ownership register + generatedVersion in manifest

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backgen rollback

Restore a project to its pre-upgrade state from the most recent backup.

backgen rollback              # show latest backup, prompt before restoring
backgen rollback --yes        # skip confirmation

What happens:

• Lists available backups in .backgen/backups/
• Restores the most recent backup (all tracked files + manifest)
• Project returns to exact pre-upgrade state

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Plugin System

Every plugin implements the BackGenPlugin interface:

interface BackGenPlugin {
  name: string;
  category: string;
  description: string;
  version: string;

  dependencies?: string[];
  devDependencies?: string[];
  requires?: string[];
  conflicts?: string[];

  env?: Record<string, string>;
  templates: string[];
  migrations?: PluginMigration[];   // versioned plugin migration scripts

  install(ctx: InstallContext): Promise<void>;
  uninstall?(ctx: InstallContext): Promise<void>;
}

Plugins can:

• Install npm dependencies
• Inject environment variables
• Register routes in app.ts
• Replace existing middleware
• Add database models (Prisma / Drizzle / Mongoose)
• Carry versioned migrations for own upgrades

---

Project Manifest

.backgenrc.json tracks plugins, versions, generated version, and file ownership:

{
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "generatedVersion": "1.9.0",
  "project": {
    "name": "my-api",
    "framework": "express",
    "database": "postgresql",
    "orm": "prisma",
    "preset": "saas-core"
  },
  "plugins": {
    "jwt": {
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "installedAt": "2026-06-01",
      "source": "core"
    }
  },
  "files": {
    "src/app.ts": { "owner": "shared", "version": "1.9.0" },
    "src/server.ts": { "owner": "framework", "version": "1.9.0" },
    "src/config/env.ts": { "owner": "framework-editable", "version": "1.9.0" },
    "prisma/schema.prisma": { "owner": "user" },
    "src/modules/user/user.service.ts": { "owner": "user" },
    "docker-compose.yml": { "owner": "shared", "version": "1.9.0" }
  }
}

Ownership levels:

Level	Description	Upgrade behavior
framework	BackGen owns fully	Safe to overwrite
framework-editable	Generated but user may customize	Smart merge via migration
shared	Generated skeleton, user extends (e.g. docker-compose)	Migration-aware update
user	User owns entirely	Never touched

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Generated Project Structure

my-api/
├── prisma/                       # Prisma ORM only
│   ├── schema.prisma
│   └── seeds/
├── src/db/                       # Drizzle ORM only
│   ├── schema/
│   │   └── index.ts
│   └── seeds/
├── src/models/                   # Mongoose ORM only
│   └── seeds/
├── src/
│   ├── app.ts                    # Express app setup
│   ├── server.ts                 # Server entry point
│   ├── config/
│   │   ├── env.ts                # Zod env validation
│   │   ├── database.ts           # Prisma client / Drizzle db / Mongoose connection
│   │   └── swagger.ts            # Swagger config
│   ├── middleware/
│   │   ├── auth.ts               # JWT/Clerk auth
│   │   ├── validate.ts           # Zod validation
│   │   ├── error.ts              # Global error handler
│   │   └── logger.ts             # Request logging
│   ├── modules/
│   │   ├── auth/                 # Auth module (if jwt installed)
│   │   ├── stripe/               # Stripe module (if installed)
│   │   └── <resource>/           # Generated resources
│   ├── services/
│   │   └── logger.service.ts     # Winston logger
│   ├── utils/
│   │   ├── api-error.ts          # Error class
│   │   ├── async-handler.ts      # Async wrapper
│   │   └── response.ts           # Response formatters
│   └── factories/                # Test factories
├── .env.example
├── .backgenrc.json               # Manifest
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose.yml
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json

---

Development

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/your-username/backgen.git
cd backgen

# Install
npm install

# Build
npm run build

# Test
npm run test

# Lint
npm run lint

Test Suite

277+ tests covering:

• CLI help and version
• Init: project structure, configs, manifest (all 3 ORMs)
• Init with domain presets: preset-specific resources and relations
• Init with saas-core preset: multi-tenant organizations, memberships, RBAC
• Add plugin: files, routes, env vars, manifest (V4.6 plugin suite)
• Generate resource: module files, ORM model, routes, validation
• Generate with relations: foreign keys, ORM includes
• Seed and factory generators (all 3 ORMs)
• Drizzle: schema generation, client setup, codegen
• Mongoose: model generation, schema definition, connection
• Remove plugin: file + dependency + manifest cleanup
• Sync: file restoration
• Doctor: health checks, ownership integrity
• Upgrade: migration engine, pending detection, backup creation
• Rollback: backup listing, file restoration, manifest recovery
• Error handling: unknown plugin, non-empty directory

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
CLI	Commander.js
Prompts	Inquirer.js
Templates	Handlebars
Spinner	Ora
Colors	Chalk
Testing	Vitest
Linting	ESLint 9 (flat config)
Language	TypeScript (strict)

Generated Projects

Layer	Technology
Framework	Express.js
Language	TypeScript (strict)
Database	PostgreSQL
ORM	Prisma / Drizzle / Mongoose
Validation	Zod
Auth	JWT or Clerk
Payments	Stripe
Storage	AWS S3
Docs	Swagger/OpenAPI
Logging	Winston + Morgan
Testing	Vitest
Deployment	Docker

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BackGen vs Alternatives

Tool	ORM Choice	Auth	Plugin System	Presets	Upgrade Engine	Docs Site
BackGen	Prisma, Drizzle, Mongoose	JWT, Clerk	◈ 7+ plugins	5 domains	◈ Backup + rollback	—
NestJS CLI	No (fixed NestJS)	Built-in	◈ Modules	—	—	◈
Express Generator	No (fixed plain JS)	—	—	—	—	—
T3 Stack	Prisma	NextAuth	—	—	—	◈
AdonisJS	Lucid ORM	Built-in	◈ Ace	—	—	◈
LoopBack	Built-in	Built-in	◈	—	—	◈

Key differentiators:

• ◈ ORM-switchable — change Prisma ↔ Drizzle ↔ Mongoose via manifest, not rewrite
• ◈ Domain presets — healthcare, SaaS, ecommerce, CRM, LMS in one command
• ◈ Upgrade engine — versioned migrations + backup + rollback for generated projects
• ◈ Multi-ORM from day one — not locked into one data layer

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Roadmap

Version	Focus	Status
V1	Foundation	Done
V2	Plugin System	Done
V3	Resource Generator	Done
V4	Domain Presets	Done
V4.5	SaaS Essentials	Done
V4.6	Production Hardening	Done
V4.6.1	Base Hardening Default-On	Done
V5	Multi-ORM (Prisma, Drizzle, Mongoose)	Done
V6	DevOps & Infrastructure	Done
V6.1	Ownership Tracking & Doctor --fix	Done
V6.2	Upgrade Engine & Migration Runner	Done
V6.3	Backups & Rollback	Done
V6.4	Plugin Migrations	Done
V7	Upgrade Polish & Diffing	In Progress
V8	Schema-First Development	Planned
V9	Enterprise Features	Planned
V10	Plugin Authoring SDK	Planned
V11	Marketplace	Planned
V12	AI Context Layer	Planned

See docs/ROADMAP.md for details.

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License

MIT