Express Sweet is a powerful Express.js extension that streamlines your development workflow with comprehensive utilities and enhancements.
npm install express-sweet
import express from 'express';
import * as expx from 'express-sweet';
const app = express();
await expx.mount(app);
app.listen(3000, () => {
console.log('Server running on http://localhost:3000');
});
Create the following directory structure:
your-app/
├── config/ # Application configuration files
│ ├── config.js # Core application configuration
│ ├── database.js # Database connection settings
│ ├── authentication.js # Authentication and session settings
│ ├── view.js # Template engine configuration
│ └── logging.js # HTTP request logging configuration
├── models/ # Database models (Sequelize ORM)
├── routes/ # Express route definitions
├── views/ # Handlebars template files
│ ├── layout/ # Layout templates
│ └── partials/ # Reusable template components
└── public/ # Static assets directory
Express Sweet uses modular configuration files to customize application behavior.
Configure database connections in config/database.js:
export default {
development: {
username: 'root',
password: 'password',
database: 'myapp_dev',
host: 'localhost',
dialect: 'mysql'
},
production: {
use_env_variable: 'DATABASE_URL',
dialect: 'postgres'
}
};
Set up user authentication in config/authentication.js:
export default {
enabled: true,
session_store: 'memory', // or 'redis'
username: 'email',
password: 'password',
success_redirect: '/dashboard',
failure_redirect: '/login',
authenticate_user: async (username, password) => {
const UserModel = require('../models/UserModel');
return await UserModel.findOne({
where: { email: username, password }
});
}
};
Core application settings in config/config.js:
export default {
env_path: '.env',
cors_enabled: true,
max_body_size: '100mb',
router_dir: path.join(process.cwd(), 'routes'),
default_router: '/home'
};
Asynchronous Login (Ajax):
import * as expx from 'express-sweet';
router.post('/login', async (req, res, next) => {
const isAuthenticated = await expx.services.Authentication.authenticate(req, res, next);
res.json({ success: isAuthenticated });
});
Synchronous Login (Form):
router.post('/login', async (req, res, next) => {
const isAuthenticated = await expx.services.Authentication.authenticate(req, res, next);
if (isAuthenticated) {
await expx.services.Authentication.successRedirect(res);
} else {
await expx.services.Authentication.failureRedirect(req, res);
}
});
router.get('/logout', (req, res) => {
expx.services.Authentication.logout(req);
res.redirect('/');
});
// Protect individual routes
function requireAuth(req, res, next) {
if (!req.user) {
return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Authentication required' });
}
next();
}
router.get('/profile', requireAuth, (req, res) => {
res.render('profile', { user: req.user });
});
import * as expx from 'express-sweet';
export default class UserModel extends expx.database.Model {
static get table() {
return 'users';
}
static get attributes() {
return {
id: {
type: this.DataTypes.INTEGER,
primaryKey: true,
autoIncrement: true
},
name: this.DataTypes.STRING,
email: {
type: this.DataTypes.STRING,
unique: true
}
};
}
// Define relationships
static associate() {
this.hasMany(BookModel, { foreignKey: 'userId' });
}
}
import UserModel from '../models/UserModel.js';
// Create
const user = await UserModel.create({
name: 'John Doe',
email: 'john@example.com'
});
// Read
const users = await UserModel.findAll();
const user = await UserModel.findOne({ where: { email: 'john@example.com' } });
// Update
await UserModel.update(
{ name: 'Jane Doe' },
{ where: { id: 1 } }
);
// Delete
await UserModel.destroy({ where: { id: 1 } });
// Get singleton instance
const db = await expx.database.DatabaseManager.getInstance();
// Check connection
const isConnected = await expx.database.DatabaseManager.isConnected();
// Transaction example
const transaction = await UserModel.begin();
try {
const user = await UserModel.create({ name: 'John' }, { transaction });
await transaction.commit();
} catch (error) {
await transaction.rollback();
}
Routes are automatically mapped based on file structure:
// routes/users.js → GET /users
import {Router} from 'express';
const router = Router();
router.get('/', (req, res) => {
res.send('Users list');
});
export default router;
// routes/api/users.js → GET /api/users
router.get('/', async (req, res) => {
const users = await UserModel.findAll();
res.json(users);
});
Set a default route in config/config.js:
export default {
default_router: '/blog' // routes/blog.js handles root requests
};
{{!-- views/users.hbs --}}
{{!< layout/default}}
<h1>Users</h1>
{{#each users}}
<div>{{name}} - {{email}}</div>
{{/each}}
{{!-- views/layout/default.hbs --}}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>{{title}}</title>
</head>
<body>
{{{body}}}
{{{block "scripts"}}}
</body>
</html>
{{!-- In your page template --}}
{{#contentFor "scripts"}}
<script src="/js/page-specific.js"></script>
{{/contentFor}}
Comparison helpers:
{{#if (eq status 'active')}}Active{{/if}}
{{#if (gt score 90)}}Excellent{{/if}}
String helpers:
{{replace title 'old' 'new'}}
{{formatBytes fileSize 2}}
Date helpers:
{{formatDate 'YYYY-MM-DD' createdAt}}
Math helpers:
Total: ${{add price tax}}
DatabaseManager replaces Database class:
// Before (v2.x)
const db = new expx.database.Database(config.database, config.username, config.password, config);
// After (v3.0+)
const db = await expx.database.DatabaseManager.getInstance();
Configuration loading:
// All configuration loaders now available
const dbConfig = await expx.utils.loadDatabaseConfig();
const authConfig = await expx.utils.loadAuthenticationConfig();
Authentication hooks now async:
// Before (v1.x)
authenticate_user: (username, password) => { /* sync */ }
// After (v2.0+)
authenticate_user: async (username, password, req) => { /* async with request context */ }
import {Router} from 'express';
import UserModel from '../models/UserModel.js';
const router = Router();
// GET /api/users
router.get('/', async (req, res) => {
const users = await UserModel.findAll();
res.json(users);
});
// POST /api/users
router.post('/', async (req, res) => {
try {
const user = await UserModel.create(req.body);
res.status(201).json(user);
} catch (error) {
res.status(400).json({ error: error.message });
}
});
// PUT /api/users/:id
router.put('/:id', async (req, res) => {
const [updated] = await UserModel.update(req.body, {
where: { id: req.params.id }
});
if (updated) {
const user = await UserModel.findByPk(req.params.id);
res.json(user);
} else {
res.status(404).json({ error: 'User not found' });
}
});
export default router;
// config/config.js
const isDevelopment = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development';
export default {
cors_enabled: isDevelopment,
max_body_size: isDevelopment ? '100mb' : '10mb',
hook_handle_error: (error, req, res, next) => {
if (isDevelopment) {
res.status(500).json({
message: error.message,
stack: error.stack
});
} else {
res.status(500).json({ message: 'Internal server error' });
}
}
};
The modules and classes below provide the complete API reference for Express Sweet. Click on any module to explore its detailed documentation, method signatures, and usage examples.