Backend Todo App with Prisma

A simple backend API for a todo application that uses Prisma ORM with a database to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on todo items. Built with Node.js and Express.js.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Technologies
• Prerequisites
• Installation
• Configuration
• Running the Application
• API Endpoints
• Database
• Prisma
• Testing
• Contributing
• License

Features

• Create new todo items
• Read all todo items
• Update existing todo items
• Delete todo items
• Prisma ORM for database operations
• Type-safe database queries
• Database migrations
• RESTful API design

Technologies

• Node.js - JavaScript runtime
• Express.js - Web framework for Node.js
• Prisma ORM - Next-generation Node.js and TypeScript ORM
• PostgreSQL - Relational database (configurable)
• REST API - Standard HTTP methods

Prerequisites

Before running this project, ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (version 18 or higher)
• npm (usually comes with Node.js)
• Prisma CLI
• PostgreSQL (or your preferred database)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/Anastand/backend-todo.git
   cd backend-todo

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Install Prisma Client

   npx prisma generate

Configuration

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory and add your configuration:

# Database configuration
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/todo_app?schema=public"

# Server configuration
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development

# Optional: JWT secret for authentication (if implemented)
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_here

Database Setup

1. Install and start PostgreSQL on your local machine or use a cloud database service.

2. Create a database named todo_app (or update the DATABASE_URL to match your database name).

3. Update DATABASE_URL in your .env file with your PostgreSQL connection details.

Running the Application

Database Setup

Before running the application, set up your database:

# Generate Prisma Client
npx prisma generate

# Run database migrations
npx prisma migrate dev --name init

# Seed the database (optional)
npx prisma db seed

Development Mode

npm run dev

This starts the server with nodemon for automatic restarts on file changes.

Production Mode

npm start

The server will be available at http://localhost:3000.

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/todos	Get all todo items
GET	/api/todos/:id	Get a specific todo by ID
POST	/api/todos	Create a new todo item
PUT	/api/todos/:id	Update a todo item
DELETE	/api/todos/:id	Delete a todo item

Request/Response Examples

Create Todo (POST /api/todos)

Request Body:

{
  "title": "Learn Prisma",
  "description": "Complete the backend todo app with Prisma ORM",
  "completed": false
}

Response (201):

{
  "id": 1,
  "title": "Learn Prisma",
  "description": "Complete the backend todo app with Prisma ORM",
  "completed": false,
  "createdAt": "2025-09-22T10:00:00.000Z",
  "updatedAt": "2025-09-22T10:00:00.000Z"
}

Get All Todos (GET /api/todos)

Response (200):

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "title": "Learn Prisma",
    "description": "Complete the backend todo app with Prisma ORM",
    "completed": false,
    "createdAt": "2025-09-22T10:00:00.000Z",
    "updatedAt": "2025-09-22T10:00:00.000Z"
  }
]

Error Response

{
  "error": "Todo not found",
  "status": 404
}

Database

This application uses PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM for data persistence.

Prisma Schema

The database schema is defined in prisma/schema.prisma:

// This is your Prisma schema file,
// learn more about it in the docs: https://pris.ly/d/prisma-schema

generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
}

model Todo {
  id          Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  title       String
  description String?
  completed   Boolean  @default(false)
  createdAt   DateTime @default(now())
  updatedAt   DateTime @updatedAt

  @@map("todos")
}

Database Commands

# Generate Prisma Client
npx prisma generate

# Run migrations
npx prisma migrate dev

# Reset database (development only)
npx prisma migrate reset

# Seed database
npx prisma db seed

# Studio (Database GUI)
npx prisma studio

Prisma

Prisma Client Usage

The Prisma Client is generated and used throughout the application for type-safe database operations.

Example usage in a controller:

const { PrismaClient } = require('@prisma/client');
const prisma = new PrismaClient();

async function getAllTodos(req, res) {
  try {
    const todos = await prisma.todo.findMany({
      orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' }
    });
    res.json(todos);
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
  }
}

Database Seeding

To seed the database with sample data, create a seed script in prisma/seed.js:

const { PrismaClient } = require('@prisma/client');
const prisma = new PrismaClient();

async function main() {
  const todos = [
    { title: 'Sample Todo 1', description: 'This is a sample todo' },
    { title: 'Sample Todo 2', completed: true },
  ];

  for (const todo of todos) {
    await prisma.todo.create({
      data: todo,
    });
  }
}

main()
  .catch((e) => {
    console.error(e);
    process.exit(1);
  })
  .finally(async () => {
    await prisma.$disconnect();
  });

Add to package.json:

{
  "prisma": {
    "seed": "node prisma/seed.js"
  }
}

Testing

To run tests:

npm test

Available test scripts:

• npm test - Run all tests
• npm run test:unit - Run unit tests
• npm run test:integration - Run integration tests

Note: Tests use an in-memory SQLite database for faster execution.

Project Structure

backend-todo/
├── prisma/
│   ├── schema.prisma     # Database schema
│   └── seed.js           # Database seeding
├── src/
│   ├── controllers/      # Request handlers
│   ├── routes/           # API routes
│   ├── middleware/       # Custom middleware
│   ├── config/           # Configuration files
│   └── utils/            # Utility functions
├── tests/                # Test files
├── .env.example          # Environment variables template
├── .gitignore
└── package.json

Contributing

1. Fork the project
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Please ensure your code follows these guidelines:

• Write clear commit messages
• Add tests for new features
• Update Prisma schema and run migrations for database changes
• Keep the code DRY and well-documented
• Follow existing code style

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contact

For questions or suggestions, please open an issue on GitHub or contact me at:

• GitHub: @Anastand

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Built with ❤️ using Prisma for modern database workflows