Below is a minimal yet complete CRUD REST API that:
- Creates / reads / updates / deletes “items” in a MongoDB collection.
- Uses Express as the web‑framework.
- Stores data with Mongoose (MongoDB).
- Secures the API with JSON Web Tokens (JWT) – users must sign‑up / log‑in, receive a token and include it in the
Authorizationheader for all protected routes.
Feel free to copy‑paste the files into a folder, run npm install and start the server.
1️⃣ Directory layout
crud-jwt-api/
├─ .env
├─ package.json
├─ server.js
├─ config/
│ └─ db.js
├─ models/
│ ├─ User.js
│ └─ Item.js
├─ middleware/
│ └─ auth.js
├─ routes/
│ ├─ auth.js
│ └─ items.js
└─ controllers/
├─ authController.js
└─ itemController.js
2️⃣ package.json
{
"name": "crud-jwt-api",
"version": "1.0.0",
"description": "CRUD REST API with Express, MongoDB & JWT auth",
"main": "server.js",
"scripts": {
"start": "node server.js",
"dev": "nodemon server.js"
},
"keywords": [],
"author": "",
"license": "ISC",
"dependencies": {
"bcrypt": "^5.1.0",
"dotenv": "^16.3.1",
"express": "^4.18.2",
"jsonwebtoken": "^9.0.0",
"mongoose": "^7.3.4"
},
"devDependencies": {
"nodemon": "^3.0.1"
}
}
Run
npm installfirst.
3️⃣ .env
Create a .env file at the project root.
Replace the placeholder values with your own.
PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/crud_jwt_api
JWT_SECRET=supersecretkey123 # <-- keep this safe!
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=1h
For a production environment you should store these in a secrets manager.
4️⃣ server.js
require('dotenv').config();
const express = require('express');
const connectDB = require('./config/db');
const app = express();
// Connect to MongoDB
connectDB();
// Middleware: parse JSON bodies
app.use(express.json());
// Routes
app.use('/api/auth', require('./routes/auth'));
app.use('/api/items', require('./routes/items'));
// Global error handler (optional but handy)
app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
console.error(err.stack);
res.status(500).json({ msg: 'Server Error' });
});
const PORT = process.env.PORT || 5000;
app.listen(PORT, () => console.log(`Server listening on port ${PORT}`));
5️⃣ Database connection – config/db.js
const mongoose = require('mongoose');
const connectDB = async () => {
try {
await mongoose.connect(process.env.MONGO_URI, {
// Options are optional in Mongoose 6+
});
console.log('MongoDB connected');
} catch (err) {
console.error(err.message);
process.exit(1); // exit on DB connect failure
}
};
module.exports = connectDB;
6️⃣ Mongoose models
6.1 User – models/User.js
const mongoose = require('mongoose');
const bcrypt = require('bcrypt');
const UserSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
email: {
type: String,
required: true,
unique: true,
lowercase: true,
trim: true,
},
password: { type: String, required: true, minlength: 6 },
createdAt: { type: Date, default: Date.now },
});
// Pre‑save hook to hash password
UserSchema.pre('save', async function (next) {
if (!this.isModified('password')) return next();
const salt = await bcrypt.genSalt(10);
this.password = await bcrypt.hash(this.password, salt);
next();
});
// Method to compare password
UserSchema.methods.matchPassword = async function (enteredPassword) {
return await bcrypt.compare(enteredPassword, this.password);
};
module.exports = mongoose.model('User', UserSchema);
6.2 Item – models/Item.js
const mongoose = require('mongoose');
const ItemSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
title: { type: String, required: true },
description: { type: String },
// Optional: link to owner
owner: { type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: 'User' },
createdAt: { type: Date, default: Date.now },
});
module.exports = mongoose.model('Item', ItemSchema);
7️⃣ JWT auth middleware – middleware/auth.js
const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');
const User = require('../models/User');
const protect = async (req, res, next) => {
let token;
// Expected format: Authorization: Bearer <token>
if (
req.headers.authorization &&
req.headers.authorization.startsWith('Bearer')
) {
token = req.headers.authorization.split(' ')[1];
}
if (!token) {
return res.status(401).json({ msg: 'Not authorized, token missing' });
}
try {
const decoded = jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET);
// Attach user to request (you could also only send _id)
req.user = await User.findById(decoded.id).select('-password');
next();
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
res.status(401).json({ msg: 'Not authorized, token invalid' });
}
};
module.exports = { protect };
8️⃣ Auth routes & controller
8.1 routes/auth.js
const express = require('express');
const router = express.Router();
const { signup, login } = require('../controllers/authController');
// POST /api/auth/signup
router.post('/signup', signup);
// POST /api/auth/login
router.post('/login', login);
module.exports = router;
8.2 controllers/authController.js
const User = require('../models/User');
const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');
// Helper to create JWT
const generateToken = (id) => {
return jwt.sign({ id }, process.env.JWT_SECRET, {
expiresIn: process.env.JWT_EXPIRES_IN || '1h',
});
};
exports.signup = async (req, res) => {
const { email, password } = req.body;
if (!email || !password)
return res.status(400).json({ msg: 'Please provide email & password' });
try {
// Check if user exists
let user = await User.findOne({ email });
if (user)
return res.status(400).json({ msg: 'User already exists' });
user = new User({ email, password });
await user.save();
const token = generateToken(user._id);
res.status(201).json({
token,
user: { id: user._id, email: user.email },
});
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
res.status(500).json({ msg: 'Server error' });
}
};
exports.login = async (req, res) => {
const { email, password } = req.body;
if (!email || !password)
return res.status(400).json({ msg: 'Please provide email & password' });
try {
const user = await User.findOne({ email });
if (!user)
return res.status(400).json({ msg: 'Invalid credentials' });
const isMatch = await user.matchPassword(password);
if (!isMatch)
return res.status(400).json({ msg: 'Invalid credentials' });
const token = generateToken(user._id);
res.json({
token,
user: { id: user._id, email: user.email },
});
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
res.status(500).json({ msg: 'Server error' });
}
};
9️⃣ Items routes & controller
9.1 routes/items.js
const express = require('express');
const router = express.Router();
const {
getItems,
getItem,
createItem,
updateItem,
deleteItem,
} = require('../controllers/itemController');
const { protect } = require('../middleware/auth');
// All routes below require a valid JWT
router.use(protect);
// GET /api/items
router.get('/', getItems);
// GET /api/items/:id
router.get('/:id', getItem);
// POST /api/items
router.post('/', createItem);
// PUT /api/items/:id
router.put('/:id', updateItem);
// DELETE /api/items/:id
router.delete('/:id', deleteItem);
module.exports = router;
9.2 controllers/itemController.js
const Item = require('../models/Item');
// GET all items (you could paginate)
exports.getItems = async (req, res) => {
try {
const items = await Item.find().sort({ createdAt: -1 });
res.json(items);
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
res.status(500).json({ msg: 'Server error' });
}
};
// GET single item
exports.getItem = async (req, res) => {
try {
const item = await Item.findById(req.params.id);
if (!item) return res.status(404).json({ msg: 'Item not found' });
res.json(item);
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
res.status(500).json({ msg: 'Server error' });
}
};
// CREATE new item
exports.createItem = async (req, res) => {
const { title, description } = req.body;
if (!title) return res.status(400).json({ msg: 'Title is required' });
try {
const newItem = new Item({
title,
description,
owner: req.user._id, // optional
});
await newItem.save();
res.status(201).json(newItem);
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
res.status(500).json({ msg: 'Server error' });
}
};
// UPDATE existing item
exports.updateItem = async (req, res) => {
const { title, description } = req.body;
try {
let item = await Item.findById(req.params.id);
if (!item) return res.status(404).json({ msg: 'Item not found' });
// optional: restrict update to owner only
// if (!item.owner.equals(req.user._id))
// return res.status(403).json({ msg: 'Not allowed' });
item.title = title ?? item.title;
item.description = description ?? item.description;
await item.save();
res.json(item);
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
res.status(500).json({ msg: 'Server error' });
}
};
// DELETE item
exports.deleteItem = async (req, res) => {
try {
const item = await Item.findById(req.params.id);
if (!item) return res.status(404).json({ msg: 'Item not found' });
// optional: restrict delete to owner only
// if (!item.owner.equals(req.user._id))
// return res.status(403).json({ msg: 'Not allowed' });
await item.remove();
res.json({ msg: 'Item removed' });
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
res.status(500).json({ msg: 'Server error' });
}
};
🔑 10️⃣ Using the API
Below are example curl calls. Replace localhost:5000 with your host if different.
10.1 Sign‑up
curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/auth/signup \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"email":"[email protected]","password":"secret123"}'
Response contains a JWT (token) and the user object.
10.2 Log‑in
curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/auth/login \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"email":"[email protected]","password":"secret123"}'
Save the
tokenfrom the response.
10.3 Create an item
curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/items \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN>" \
-d '{"title":"My first item","description":"Hello world!"}'
10.4 Get all items
curl -X GET http://localhost:5000/api/items \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN>"
10.5 Get a single item
curl -X GET http://localhost:5000/api/items/<ITEM_ID> \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN>"
10.6 Update an item
curl -X PUT http://localhost:5000/api/items/<ITEM_ID> \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN>" \
-d '{"title":"Updated title"}'
10.7 Delete an item
curl -X DELETE http://localhost:5000/api/items/<ITEM_ID> \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN>"
⚙️ 11️⃣ Things to improve for production
| Area | Suggestion |
|---|---|
| Password policy | Enforce stronger passwords, use OWASP guidelines. |
| Rate limiting / brute‑force protection | Add express-rate-limit. |
| Refresh tokens | Store a long‑lived refresh token in a cookie or DB. |
| HTTPS | Use TLS in front of the API. |
| CORS | Configure properly (cors package). |
| Input validation | Use express-validator or Joi. |
| Logging | Use Winston / Morgan with log rotation. |
| Testing | Add unit / integration tests (jest / supertest). |
| Docker | Containerise the app & MongoDB for reproducibility. |
🎉 You’re done!
This example covers the core concepts:
- User signup & login → JWT issuance
- Middleware → protects routes
- CRUD on a resource
- Mongoose data modelling
- Error handling basics
Feel free to extend it—add pagination, sorting, file uploads, or any other feature you need. Happy coding!