Development Guide

Development Guide

First-time Setup

Ensure you have the required tools installed:

Node.js (v24+ required)
pnpm (v10.26+)
PostgreSQL (v14+)
Git

Installation

bash

# Install dependencies from package.json
pnpm install

Note: Don't delete pnpm-lock.yaml before installation. See more in pnpm docs

Database Configuration

The project uses TypeORM with the Data Mapper pattern and supports multiple database types.

PostgreSQL (Default)

Install and start PostgreSQL
Create a database for your application
Configure your .env file:

env

# Database Configuration
DB_TYPE=postgres
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=5432
DB_USERNAME=postgres
DB_PASSWORD=postgres
DB_DATABASE=nest_boilerplate

# Enable ORM logging (development only)
ENABLE_ORM_LOGS=true

MySQL/MariaDB Alternative

If you prefer MySQL/MariaDB over PostgreSQL:

Update your .env file:

env

# Database Configuration
DB_TYPE=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_USERNAME=mysql
DB_PASSWORD=mysql
DB_DATABASE=nest_boilerplate
DB_ROOT_PASSWORD=mysql
DB_ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD=yes

Update ormconfig.ts:

typescript

export const dataSource = new DataSource({
  type: 'mysql', // Change from 'postgres' to 'mysql'
  host: process.env.DB_HOST,
  port: Number(process.env.DB_PORT),
  username: process.env.DB_USERNAME,
  password: process.env.DB_PASSWORD,
  database: process.env.DB_DATABASE,
  // ... rest of configuration
});

Clear existing migrations and regenerate:

bash

# Remove existing migrations
rm -rf src/database/migrations/*

# Generate new migrations for MySQL
pnpm migration:generate -- --name=initial-migration

Database Operations

Note: For TypeORM v0.3+, the migration commands have changed:
migration:create now requires the full path to the migration file
migration:generate requires the -d flag to specify the DataSource configuration
All commands now use the DataSource configuration instead of the old ormconfig.ts format

Migration Examples

Creating a new migration manually:

bash

# Create a new migration file
pnpm migration:create src/database/migrations/add-gifts-table

# This generates: 1754340825698-add-gifts-table.ts

Generating migration from entity changes:

bash

# 1. Create or modify your entity (e.g., src/modules/gift/gift.entity.ts)
# 2. Generate migration based on entity changes
pnpm migration:generate -- --name=add-gifts-table

# 3. Review the generated migration file
# 4. Run the migration
pnpm migration:run

Complete workflow example:

bash

# 1. Create entity
# Edit: src/modules/gift/gift.entity.ts

# 2. Generate migration
pnpm migration:generate -- --name=gifts-table

# 3. Review generated migration
# File: src/database/migrations/1754340825698-gifts-table.ts

# 4. Run migration
pnpm migration:run

# 5. Verify migration status
pnpm migration:show

# Revert the last migration
pnpm migration:revert

# Drop entire database schema (⚠️ destructive)
pnpm schema:drop

Development Server

The project uses Vite for fast development with hot module replacement:

bash

# Start development server with Vite (recommended)
pnpm start:dev

# Alternative: Start with NestJS CLI
pnpm nest:start:dev

# Start with file watching
pnpm watch:dev

# Start with debugger enabled
pnpm nest:start:debug

Note: If you're on Linux and see an ENOSPC error, you must increase the number of available file watchers.

The development server will be available at:

Application: http://localhost:3000
API Documentation: http://localhost:3000/documentation

Project Structure

src/
├── common/                 # Shared DTOs, utilities, and base classes
│   ├── dto/               # Common data transfer objects
│   └── abstract.entity.ts # Base entity class
├── constants/             # Application-wide constants
├── database/              # Database configuration and migrations
│   └── migrations/        # TypeORM migration files
├── decorators/            # Custom decorators
├── entity-subscribers/    # TypeORM entity subscribers
├── exceptions/            # Custom exception classes
├── filters/               # Exception filters
├── guards/                # Authentication and authorization guards
├── i18n/                  # Internationalization files
│   ├── en_US/            # English translations
│   └── ru_RU/            # Russian translations
├── interceptors/          # Request/Response interceptors
├── interfaces/            # TypeScript interfaces
├── modules/               # Feature modules
│   ├── auth/             # Authentication module
│   ├── user/             # User management module
│   ├── post/             # Post management module
│   └── health-checker/   # Health check module
├── providers/             # Custom providers
├── shared/                # Shared services and utilities
│   └── services/         # Global services
└── validators/            # Custom validators

Code Generation

Use NestJS CLI for rapid development:

bash

# Install NestJS CLI globally (if not already installed)
pnpm add -g @nestjs/cli

# Generate a new module
nest generate module feature-name

# Generate a new service
nest generate service feature-name

# Generate a new controller
nest generate controller feature-name

# Generate a complete resource (module, service, controller, DTOs)
nest generate resource feature-name

# Use project-specific generator
pnpm generate service feature-name
pnpm g controller feature-name

Note: The project includes custom schematics via awesome-nestjs-schematics for enhanced code generation.

Environment Variables

Create a .env file based on .env.example:

env

# Application
NODE_ENV=development
PORT=3000

# Database
DB_TYPE=postgres
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=5432
DB_USERNAME=postgres
DB_PASSWORD=postgres
DB_DATABASE=nest_boilerplate
ENABLE_ORM_LOGS=true

# JWT Authentication (RSA key pair — RS256 algorithm)
# Generate keys: openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out private.pem && openssl rsa -pubout -in private.pem -out public.pem
JWT_PRIVATE_KEY="-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\n...\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----"
JWT_PUBLIC_KEY="-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----\n...\n-----END PUBLIC KEY-----"

# Redis
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

# Telegram Bot (for Telegram authentication)
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your-telegram-bot-token
TELEGRAM_BOT_USERNAME=your-telegram-bot-username

# AWS S3 (optional)
AWS_S3_BUCKET_NAME=your-bucket-name

# MeiliSearch (optional)
MEILI_HOST=http://localhost:7700
MEILI_MASTER_KEY=your-meilisearch-master-key

# CORS
CORS_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000,http://localhost:3001

# API Documentation
ENABLE_DOCUMENTATION=true

# Throttling
THROTTLE_TTL=60
THROTTLE_LIMIT=10

# NATS (optional)
NATS_ENABLED=false
NATS_HOST=localhost
NATS_PORT=4222

Docker Development

Prerequisites

Running with Docker

bash

# Start all services (app + database)
PORT=3000 docker-compose up

# Start in detached mode
PORT=3000 docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop services
docker-compose down

# Rebuild and start
docker-compose up --build

Docker Compose Services

The docker-compose.yml includes:

app: NestJS application
postgres: PostgreSQL database
pgAdmin: Database administration tool (available at http://localhost:8080)
meilisearch: Meilisearch search engine (available at http://localhost:7701)

For MySQL development, use:

bash

docker-compose -f docker-compose_mysql.yml up

Development Workflow

Feature Development:

bash

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/new-feature

# Generate module structure
pnpm g resource feature-name

# Implement feature
# Write tests
# Update documentation

Code Quality:

bash

# Run linting
pnpm lint

# Fix linting issues
pnpm lint:fix

# Run tests
pnpm test

# Check test coverage
pnpm test:cov

Database Changes:

bash

# Create/modify entities
# Generate migration
pnpm migration:generate -- --name=[migration-name]

# Review generated migration
# Run migration
pnpm migration:run

Debugging

VS Code Configuration

Create .vscode/launch.json:

json

{
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "name": "Debug NestJS",
      "type": "node",
      "request": "launch",
      "program": "${workspaceFolder}/src/main.ts",
      "runtimeArgs": ["--loader", "ts-node/esm"],
      "env": {
        "NODE_ENV": "development"
      },
      "console": "integratedTerminal",
      "internalConsoleOptions": "neverOpen"
    }
  ]
}

Debug Commands

bash

# Start with debugger
pnpm nest:start:debug

# Debug tests
pnpm test:debug

# Debug specific test file
pnpm test:debug -- user.service.spec.ts

Performance Optimization

Development Performance

Use Vite for Development:
- Faster startup times
- Hot module replacement
- Optimized bundling

Database Query Optimization:

bash

# Enable query logging
ENABLE_ORM_LOGS=true

# Monitor slow queries
# Add database indexes
# Use query builders for complex queries

Memory Management:

bash

# Monitor memory usage
node --inspect src/main.ts

# Increase Node.js memory limit if needed
node --max-old-space-size=4096 src/main.ts

Production Considerations

Use pnpm build:prod for optimized builds
Enable compression middleware
Configure proper caching strategies
Set up monitoring and logging
Use environment-specific configurations

Development Guide ​

First-time Setup ​

Installation ​

Database Configuration ​

PostgreSQL (Default) ​

MySQL/MariaDB Alternative ​

Database Operations ​

Migration Examples ​

Development Server ​

Project Structure ​

Code Generation ​

Environment Variables ​

Docker Development ​

Prerequisites ​

Running with Docker ​

Docker Compose Services ​

Development Workflow ​

Debugging ​

VS Code Configuration ​

Debug Commands ​

Performance Optimization ​

Development Performance ​

Production Considerations ​

Development Guide

First-time Setup

Installation

Database Configuration

PostgreSQL (Default)

MySQL/MariaDB Alternative

Database Operations

Migration Examples

Development Server

Project Structure

Code Generation

Environment Variables

Docker Development

Prerequisites

Running with Docker

Docker Compose Services

Development Workflow

Debugging

VS Code Configuration

Debug Commands

Performance Optimization

Development Performance

Production Considerations