Project Best Practices

When creating or scaffolding a new project, follow these guidelines.

Project Initialization

1. Always start with a package manager lockfile — run npm init -y (or pnpm init) then install dependencies to generate a lockfile immediately.
2. Use TypeScript by default — unless the user explicitly asks for JavaScript. Configure strict: true in tsconfig.json.
3. Add a .gitignore from the start — include node_modules/, dist/, .env, coverage reports, OS files.
4. Initialize git — git init with an initial commit after scaffolding.
5. Create a README.md — with project name, description, setup instructions, and available scripts.

Directory Structure

Follow a standard layout based on project type:

Node.js / Backend

src/