Creating a REST API in 30 minutes using Node.js, TypeScript, Prisma, and Express

If you want to create a robust REST API in a short amount of time, then Node.js along with TypeScript, Prisma, and Express is a great combination to use. In this article, we will walk through the steps to create a basic REST API in just 30 minutes.

Setting up the environment

First, you need to have Node.js and npm installed on your machine. You can download and install them from the official Node.js website. Once Node.js and npm are installed, you can create a new directory for your project and initialize it with a package.json file using the following command:

npm init -y

Installing dependencies

Next, install the necessary dependencies for your project. You will need to install TypeScript, Prisma, and Express. You can do this by running the following commands:

npm install typescript prisma express

Creating the project structure

Now that you have your dependencies installed, it’s time to create the project structure. You can create a src directory to hold your TypeScript files, and a prisma directory to hold your Prisma schema file. Your directory structure should look something like this:

    ├── src/
    │   ├── index.ts
    ├── prisma/
    │   ├── schema.prisma
    └── package.json
    

Writing the code

Now you can start writing the code for your REST API. In your src directory, create an index.ts file and add the following code:

    import express from 'express';
    const app = express();

    app.get('/', (req, res) => {
      res.send('Hello World!');
    });

    app.listen(3000, () => {
      console.log('Server is running on port 3000');
    });
    

In your prisma directory, create a schema.prisma file and define your database schema using Prisma’s schema language. For example:

    datasource db {
      provider = "postgresql"
      url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
    }

    model User {
      id    Int     @id @default(autoincrement())
      name  String
      email String  @unique
    }
    

Running the API

Finally, you can run your API by compiling your TypeScript code and running it with Node.js. You can use the following commands to do this:

tsc && node dist/index.js

Now you should have a basic REST API up and running in just 30 minutes using Node.js, TypeScript, Prisma, and Express. From here, you can continue to expand and improve your API by adding more endpoints, integrating with databases, and implementing security measures.

That’s it! You have successfully created a basic REST API using Node.js, TypeScript, Prisma, and Express in just 30 minutes. Happy coding!