Product Analysis: Express-React-HMR-Boilerplate

Overview

Express-React-HMR-Boilerplate is a boilerplate for scaffolding production-ready MERN stack projects. It provides a set of ready-to-use configurations and features to help developers quickly start building full-stack applications using Express, React, Redux, and other popular technologies.

Features

• Node.js + Express for server-side development
• React.js + Redux + Redux-Thunk + React-Router for client-side development
• Mongodb + Mongoose + MongoLab for database management
• Livereload for automatic reloading during development
• Server-Side Rendering (SSR) & State Fetching for improved performance
• Webpack + Code Splitting for efficient bundling and deployment
• CSS Modules for modular and scoped styles
• ES6/7 + Babel for modern JavaScript syntax
• Travis CI integration for continuous integration
• Heroku Deploy Script for easy deployment
• PM2 for Production Serving
• Examples provided for various functionalities such as todo list app, user authentication, i18n, file uploads, etc.
• React Native support for mobile app development

Installation

To integrate this boilerplate into your own project, follow these steps:

1. Setup your new project using the commands below:

$ git clone https://github.com/boilerplate/express-react-hmr
$ cd express-react-hmr
$ git remote remove origin
$ git remote add origin https://github.com/your_username/your_project.git
$ git push -u origin master

2. Configure MongoDB: Most services provided by this boilerplate rely on MongoDB. You must configure your own MongoDB URIs. Create a configuration file configs/project/mongo/credential.js based on the provided template configs/project/mongo/credential.tmpl.js.

3. (Optional) Configure Nodemailer: If you want to use Nodemailer for email services, create a configuration file configs/project/nodemailer/credential.js and provide the necessary credentials.

4. (Optional) Configure Google Analytics: To enable Google Analytics tracking, update the configuration file accordingly.

5. (Optional) Configure Social Authentication: If you want to enable social authentication (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn), update the configuration files accordingly.

6. (Optional) Configure ReCAPTCHA: If you want to use ReCAPTCHA for enhanced security, get your API keys and save them in the configuration file configs/project/recaptcha/credential.js.

7. (Optional) Configure Firebase: If you want to use Firebase for user avatar storage, follow the provided documentation to set up Firebase, save the credential file to configs/project/firebase/credential.json, and update the configuration files accordingly.

8. Build and Run:

   • For development: npm run dev
   • For production: npm run build && npm start

9. Test locally or on Travis: The documentation provides guidelines for testing the application both locally and on a Travis CI setup.

Summary

Express-React-HMR-Boilerplate is a comprehensive and feature-rich boilerplate for building MERN stack applications. It offers a wide range of functionalities and comes with ready-to-use configurations for various services. The installation process is well-documented and straightforward, allowing developers to quickly set up their projects and start building production-ready applications.