Express + TypeScript + Drizzle + Better Auth

A production-ready Express.js API with TypeScript, Drizzle ORM, and Better Auth for email/password authentication.

Features

• ✅ Express.js with TypeScript
• ✅ Drizzle ORM with PostgreSQL
• ✅ Better Auth (email/password)
• ✅ Cookie-based authentication
• ✅ CORS enabled
• ✅ Modular architecture
• ✅ Input validation with Zod
• ✅ Error handling middleware
• ✅ Environment variable validation

Project Structure

src/
├── modules/
│   ├── auth/           # Authentication module
│   ├── user/           # User profile module
│   └── index.ts        # Module routes aggregator
├── shared/
│   ├── config/         # App configuration
│   └── middleware/     # Shared middleware
├── db/
│   ├── schema.ts       # Aggregate schemas
│   ├── migrations/     # Database migrations
│   └── seed.ts         # Seed script
├── app.ts              # Express app setup
└── server.ts           # Entry point

Setup Instructions

1. Install Dependencies

npm install

2. Setup Environment Variables

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and fill in your values:

PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=your-super-secret-key-min-32-chars-long
BETTER_AUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:5173,http://localhost:3000

Generate a secure secret:

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

3. Setup PostgreSQL Database

Make sure PostgreSQL is running and create a database:

createdb mydb

Or using psql:

CREATE DATABASE mydb;

4. Generate and Run Migrations

# Generate migration files from schema
npm run db:generate

# Run migrations
npm run db:migrate

# Alternative: Push schema directly (dev only)
npm run db:push

5. Start Development Server

npm run dev

The server will start at http://localhost:3000

Available Scripts

Command	Description
npm run dev	Start development server with hot reload
npm run build	Build for production
npm start	Start production server
npm run db:generate	Generate migration files
npm run db:migrate	Run database migrations
npm run db:push	Push schema directly (dev only)
npm run db:studio	Open Drizzle Studio (database GUI)
npm run db:seed	Run seed script

API Endpoints

Auth Routes (/api/auth)

Better Auth automatically provides these endpoints:

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/auth/sign-up/email	Register with email/password
POST	/api/auth/sign-in/email	Login with email/password
POST	/api/auth/sign-out	Logout
GET	/api/auth/session	Get current session
GET	/api/auth/me	Get current user (custom)

User Routes (/api/users)

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth
GET	/api/users/profile	Get user profile	✅
POST	/api/users/profile	Create profile	✅
PATCH	/api/users/profile	Update profile	✅
DELETE	/api/users/profile	Delete profile	✅

Authentication Flow

1. Sign Up

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/auth/sign-up/email \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "email": "user@example.com",
    "password": "SecurePass123!",
    "name": "John Doe"
  }'

2. Sign In

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/auth/sign-in/email \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -c cookies.txt \
  -d '{
    "email": "user@example.com",
    "password": "SecurePass123!"
  }'

3. Access Protected Route

curl -X GET http://localhost:3000/api/users/profile \
  -b cookies.txt

4. Sign Out

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/auth/sign-out \
  -b cookies.txt

Frontend Integration

React Example with Better Auth Client

npm install better-auth @better-auth/react

// lib/auth.ts
import { createAuthClient } from 'better-auth/react';

export const authClient = createAuthClient({
  baseURL: 'http://localhost:3000',
});

export const { signIn, signUp, signOut, useSession } = authClient;

// components/Login.tsx
import { signIn } from '@/lib/auth';

function Login() {
  const handleLogin = async (e) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    await signIn.email({
      email: 'user@example.com',
      password: 'password123',
    });
  };

  return <form onSubmit={handleLogin}>...</form>;
}

Adding New Modules

1. Create module folder: src/modules/post/
2. Add files:
   • post.schema.ts - Drizzle schema
   • post.repository.ts - Database queries
   • post.service.ts - Business logic
   • post.controller.ts - Request handlers
   • post.routes.ts - Route definitions
   • post.validation.ts - Zod schemas
3. Export schema in src/db/schema.ts
4. Register routes in src/modules/index.ts

Database Schema

The project includes these tables:

• user - Better Auth user table
• session - User sessions
• account - OAuth/password accounts
• verification - Email verification tokens
• user_profile - Extended user profiles

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Required
PORT	Server port	No (default: 3000)
NODE_ENV	Environment	No (default: development)
DATABASE_URL	PostgreSQL connection string	Yes
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET	Auth secret (min 32 chars)	Yes
BETTER_AUTH_URL	Base URL of your app	Yes
ALLOWED_ORIGINS	CORS allowed origins (comma-separated)	No

Production Deployment

1. Build the project:

npm run build

2. Set environment variables in your hosting platform

3. Run migrations:

npm run db:migrate

4. Start the server:

npm start

License

MIT