I got tired of setting up MERN projects, so I built a VS Code extension to automate it

Source: Dev.to

Why I built MERN DevBoost

I’ve been creating many MERN stack projects, and the initial setup always took 30–40 minutes. Each project required:

• Creating identical frontend and backend folders
• Running npm init and installing the same 10–15 packages (Express, Mongoose, Vite, bcrypt, etc.)
• Setting up .env files
• Writing the same authentication boilerplate

Copy‑pasting old code became tedious, so I decided to automate the whole process with a VS Code extension.

What MERN DevBoost does

Complete project scaffold

• Generates the full MERN folder structure
• Includes a pre‑configured Express server and a Vite‑based React frontend
• Provides basic authentication and database connection files

Auto‑CRUD Generator

Type a resource name (e.g., product) and the extension creates:

• Mongoose model
• Controller with try‑catch blocks
• Express routes

Advanced Auth

• Generates Role‑Based Access Control (Admin/User)
• Adds password‑reset logic with a single click

DEVBOOST_GUIDE.md

After scaffolding, the extension automatically opens a DEVBOOST_GUIDE.md file inside VS Code. The guide lists the next terminal commands and shows how to test the generated APIs with Postman.

Getting Started

1. Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace.
2. Run the command palette entry “MERN DevBoost: Scaffold Project”.
3. Follow the prompts to name your project and optionally add resources for the Auto‑CRUD generator.
4. When the scaffold finishes, the DEVBOOST_GUIDE.md file opens automatically—follow its instructions to launch the server and test the endpoints.

Feedback & Contributions

If you work with the MERN stack and want to skip manual setup, give MERN DevBoost a try and let me know what features to add next or any missing security packages.

Links

• VS Code Marketplace:
• GitHub Repository: