Developer Onboarding Overview
Create comprehensive onboarding documentation that helps new developers quickly set up their development environment, understand the codebase, and start contributing effectively.
When to Use New developer onboarding README file creation Contributing guidelines Development environment setup Architecture overview docs Code style guides Git workflow documentation Testing guidelines Deployment procedures Comprehensive README Template
Project Name
Brief project description (1-2 sentences explaining what this project does).
Table of Contents
- Features
- Quick Start
- Prerequisites
- Installation
- Configuration
- Development
- Testing
- Deployment
- Architecture
- Contributing
- License
Features
- ✨ Feature 1: Brief description
- 🚀 Feature 2: Brief description
- 🔒 Feature 3: Brief description
- 📊 Feature 4: Brief description
Quick Start
Get up and running in less than 5 minutes:
```bash
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git cd repo
Install dependencies
npm install
Set up environment
cp .env.example .env
Run database migrations
npm run db:migrate
Start development server
npm run dev
Visit http://localhost:3000 to see the app.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:
Node.js 18.x or higher (Download) npm 9.x or higher (comes with Node.js) PostgreSQL 14.x or higher (Download) Redis 7.x or higher (Download) Docker (optional, for containerized development)
Recommended Tools:
VS Code with recommended extensions Postman for API testing pgAdmin for database management Installation 1. Clone the Repository git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git cd repo
- Install Dependencies
Install all dependencies
npm install
Or use yarn
yarn install
Or use pnpm
pnpm install
- Set Up Environment Variables
Create a .env file in the root directory:
cp .env.example .env
Edit .env and configure the following:
Application
NODE_ENV=development PORT=3000 BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000
Database
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/dbname
Redis
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379
Authentication
JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key-here JWT_EXPIRES_IN=7d
External APIs
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_... SENDGRID_API_KEY=SG...
AWS (if applicable)
AWS_REGION=us-east-1 AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-key AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret S3_BUCKET_NAME=your-bucket
- Database Setup
Create database
createdb your_database_name
Run migrations
npm run db:migrate
Seed database with sample data (optional)
npm run db:seed
- Verify Installation
Run tests to verify setup
npm test
Start development server
npm run dev
If everything is set up correctly, you should see:
✓ Server running on http://localhost:3000 ✓ Database connected ✓ Redis connected
Configuration Database Configuration
Edit config/database.js:
module.exports = { development: { url: process.env.DATABASE_URL, dialect: 'postgres', logging: console.log, }, test: { url: process.env.TEST_DATABASE_URL, dialect: 'postgres', logging: false, }, production: { url: process.env.DATABASE_URL, dialect: 'postgres', logging: false, pool: { max: 20, min: 5, acquire: 30000, idle: 10000, }, }, };
Application Configuration
Main config file: config/app.js
module.exports = { port: process.env.PORT || 3000, env: process.env.NODE_ENV || 'development', apiVersion: 'v1', rateLimit: { windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes max: 100, // limit each IP to 100 requests per windowMs }, cors: { origin: process.env.CORS_ORIGIN || '*', credentials: true, }, };
Development Project Structure . ├── src/ │ ├── api/ # API routes │ │ ├── controllers/ # Route controllers │ │ ├── middlewares/ # Express middlewares │ │ └── routes/ # Route definitions │ ├── config/ # Configuration files │ ├── models/ # Database models │ ├── services/ # Business logic │ ├── utils/ # Utility functions │ └── app.js # Express app setup ├── tests/ │ ├── unit/ # Unit tests │ ├── integration/ # Integration tests │ └── e2e/ # End-to-end tests ├── scripts/ # Utility scripts ├── docs/ # Documentation ├── .env.example # Environment template ├── .eslintrc.js # ESLint config ├── .prettierrc # Prettier config ├── package.json └── README.md
Available Scripts
Development
npm run dev # Start dev server with hot reload npm run dev:debug # Start with debugger attached
Building
npm run build # Build for production npm run build:watch # Build and watch for changes
Testing
npm test # Run all tests npm run test:unit # Run unit tests only npm run test:integration # Run integration tests npm run test:e2e # Run e2e tests npm run test:watch # Run tests in watch mode npm run test:coverage # Generate coverage report
Linting & Formatting
npm run lint # Run ESLint npm run lint:fix # Fix ESLint errors npm run format # Format code with Prettier npm run format:check # Check formatting
Database
npm run db:migrate # Run migrations npm run db:migrate:undo # Undo last migration npm run db:seed # Seed database npm run db:reset # Reset database (drop, create, migrate, seed)
Other
npm run clean # Clean build artifacts npm start # Start production server
Code Style
We use ESLint and Prettier for consistent code style:
ESLint Config:
// .eslintrc.js module.exports = { extends: ['airbnb-base', 'prettier'], plugins: ['prettier'], rules: { 'prettier/prettier': 'error', 'no-console': process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' ? 'error' : 'off', 'no-debugger': process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' ? 'error' : 'off', }, };
Prettier Config:
{ "semi": true, "singleQuote": true, "trailingComma": "es5", "printWidth": 100, "tabWidth": 2 }
Git Workflow
We follow the Git Flow branching model:
Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
Make changes and commit
git add . git commit -m "feat: add new feature"
Push to remote
git push origin feature/your-feature-name
Create pull request on GitHub
Branch Naming Convention:
feature/ - New features bugfix/ - Bug fixes hotfix/ - Urgent production fixes refactor/ - Code refactoring docs/ - Documentation updates
Commit Message Convention:
We use Conventional Commits:
type(scope): subject
body
footer
Types:
feat: - New feature fix: - Bug fix docs: - Documentation changes style: - Code style changes (formatting, etc.) refactor: - Code refactoring test: - Adding or updating tests chore: - Maintenance tasks
Examples:
feat(auth): add OAuth2 authentication fix(api): resolve race condition in order processing docs(readme): update installation instructions
Testing Running Tests
Run all tests
npm test
Run with coverage
npm run test:coverage
Run specific test file
npm test -- tests/unit/user.test.js
Run tests matching pattern
npm test -- --grep "User API"
Writing Tests
Unit Test Example:
// tests/unit/user.service.test.js const { expect } = require('chai'); const UserService = require('../../src/services/user.service');
describe('UserService', () => { describe('createUser', () => { it('should create a new user', async () => { const userData = { email: 'test@example.com', password: 'password123', name: 'Test User', };
const user = await UserService.createUser(userData);
expect(user).to.have.property('id');
expect(user.email).to.equal(userData.email);
expect(user.password).to.not.equal(userData.password); // Should be hashed
});
it('should throw error for duplicate email', async () => {
const userData = { email: 'existing@example.com' };
await expect(UserService.createUser(userData)).to.be.rejectedWith(
'Email already exists'
);
});
}); });
Integration Test Example:
// tests/integration/auth.test.js const request = require('supertest'); const app = require('../../src/app');
describe('Auth API', () => { describe('POST /api/auth/register', () => { it('should register a new user', async () => { const response = await request(app) .post('/api/auth/register') .send({ email: 'newuser@example.com', password: 'password123', name: 'New User', }) .expect(201);
expect(response.body).to.have.property('token');
expect(response.body.user).to.have.property('id');
});
}); });
Deployment Production Build
Build for production
npm run build
Start production server
NODE_ENV=production npm start
Docker Deployment
Dockerfile
FROM node:18-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./ RUN npm ci --only=production
COPY . .
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["npm", "start"]
Build Docker image
docker build -t myapp:latest .
Run container
docker run -p 3000:3000 --env-file .env myapp:latest
Environment Variables
Ensure these are set in production:
NODE_ENV=production DATABASE_URL=postgresql://... REDIS_URL=redis://... JWT_SECRET=strong-random-secret
... other production configs
Architecture High-Level Overview ┌─────────────┐ │ Client │ └──────┬──────┘ │ ▼ ┌─────────────┐ │ API Gateway │ └──────┬──────┘ │ ▼ ┌─────────────┐ ┌──────────┐ │ Services │────▶│ Database │ └──────┬──────┘ └──────────┘ │ ▼ ┌─────────────┐ │ Cache │ └─────────────┘
Key Components API Layer: Express.js REST API Service Layer: Business logic Data Layer: PostgreSQL + Redis Authentication: JWT-based auth Caching: Redis for session and data caching Contributing
We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details.
Quick Contribution Guide Fork the repository Create your feature branch Make your changes Write/update tests Ensure all tests pass Submit a pull request Code Review Process All PRs require at least one approval CI must pass (tests, linting) Code coverage must not decrease Documentation must be updated License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
Support Documentation: https://docs.example.com Issues: GitHub Issues Discussions: GitHub Discussions Slack: Join our Slack Acknowledgments List contributors Credit third-party libraries Thank sponsors
Best Practices
✅ DO
- Start with a clear, concise project description
- Include badges for build status, coverage, etc.
- Provide a quick start section
- Document all prerequisites clearly
- Include troubleshooting section
- Keep README up-to-date
- Use code examples liberally
- Add architecture diagrams
- Document environment variables
- Include contribution guidelines
- Specify code style requirements
- Document testing procedures
❌ DON'T
- Assume prior knowledge
- Skip prerequisite documentation
- Forget to update after major changes
- Use overly technical jargon
- Skip example code
- Ignore Windows/Mac/Linux differences
- Forget to document scripts