Developer Onboarding

Overview

Create comprehensive onboarding documentation that helps new developers quickly set up their development environment, understand the codebase, and start contributing effectively.

When to Use

• New developer onboarding
• README file creation
• Contributing guidelines
• Development environment setup
• Architecture overview docs
• Code style guides
• Git workflow documentation
• Testing guidelines
• Deployment procedures

Comprehensive README Template

# Project Name

Brief project description (1-2 sentences explaining what this project does).

[![Build Status](https://img.shields.io/github/workflow/status/username/repo/CI)](https://github.com/username/repo/actions)
[![Coverage](https://img.shields.io/codecov/c/github/username/repo)](https://codecov.io/gh/username/repo)
[![License](https://img.shields.io/github/license/username/repo)](LICENSE)
[![Version](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/package-name)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/package-name)

## Table of Contents

- [Features](#features)
- [Quick Start](#quick-start)
- [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
- [Installation](#installation)
- [Configuration](#configuration)
- [Development](#development)
- [Testing](#testing)
- [Deployment](#deployment)
- [Architecture](#architecture)
- [Contributing](#contributing)
- [License](#license)

## Features

- ✨ Feature 1: Brief description
- 🚀 Feature 2: Brief description
- 🔒 Feature 3: Brief description
- 📊 Feature 4: Brief description

## Quick Start

Get up and running in less than 5 minutes:

```bash
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git
cd repo

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Set up environment
cp .env.example .env

# Run database migrations
npm run db:migrate

# Start development server
npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:3000 to see the app.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js 18.x or higher (Download)
• npm 9.x or higher (comes with Node.js)
• PostgreSQL 14.x or higher (Download)
• Redis 7.x or higher (Download)
• Docker (optional, for containerized development)

Recommended Tools:

• VS Code with recommended extensions
• Postman for API testing
• pgAdmin for database management

Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git
cd repo

2. Install Dependencies

# Install all dependencies
npm install

# Or use yarn
yarn install

# Or use pnpm
pnpm install

3. Set Up Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and configure the following:

# Application
NODE_ENV=development
PORT=3000
BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000

# Database
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/dbname

# Redis
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

# Authentication
JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key-here
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=7d

# External APIs
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_...
SENDGRID_API_KEY=SG...

# AWS (if applicable)
AWS_REGION=us-east-1
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret
S3_BUCKET_NAME=your-bucket

4. Database Setup

# Create database
createdb your_database_name

# Run migrations
npm run db:migrate

# Seed database with sample data (optional)
npm run db:seed

5. Verify Installation

# Run tests to verify setup
npm test

# Start development server
npm run dev

If everything is set up correctly, you should see:

✓ Server running on http://localhost:3000
✓ Database connected
✓ Redis connected

Configuration

Database Configuration

Edit config/database.js:

module.exports = {
  development: {
    url: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
    dialect: 'postgres',
    logging: console.log,
  },
  test: {
    url: process.env.TEST_DATABASE_URL,
    dialect: 'postgres',
    logging: false,
  },
  production: {
    url: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
    dialect: 'postgres',
    logging: false,
    pool: {
      max: 20,
      min: 5,
      acquire: 30000,
      idle: 10000,
    },
  },
};

Application Configuration

Main config file: config/app.js

module.exports = {
  port: process.env.PORT || 3000,
  env: process.env.NODE_ENV || 'development',
  apiVersion: 'v1',
  rateLimit: {
    windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
    max: 100, // limit each IP to 100 requests per windowMs
  },
  cors: {
    origin: process.env.CORS_ORIGIN || '*',
    credentials: true,
  },
};

Development

Project Structure

.
├── src/
│   ├── api/              # API routes
│   │   ├── controllers/  # Route controllers
│   │   ├── middlewares/  # Express middlewares
│   │   └── routes/       # Route definitions
│   ├── config/           # Configuration files
│   ├── models/           # Database models
│   ├── services/         # Business logic
│   ├── utils/            # Utility functions
│   └── app.js            # Express app setup
├── tests/
│   ├── unit/             # Unit tests
│   ├── integration/      # Integration tests
│   └── e2e/              # End-to-end tests
├── scripts/              # Utility scripts
├── docs/                 # Documentation
├── .env.example          # Environment template
├── .eslintrc.js          # ESLint config
├── .prettierrc           # Prettier config
├── package.json
└── README.md

Available Scripts

# Development
npm run dev              # Start dev server with hot reload
npm run dev:debug        # Start with debugger attached

# Building
npm run build            # Build for production
npm run build:watch      # Build and watch for changes

# Testing
npm test                 # Run all tests
npm run test:unit        # Run unit tests only
npm run test:integration # Run integration tests
npm run test:e2e         # Run e2e tests
npm run test:watch       # Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:coverage    # Generate coverage report

# Linting & Formatting
npm run lint             # Run ESLint
npm run lint:fix         # Fix ESLint errors
npm run format           # Format code with Prettier
npm run format:check     # Check formatting

# Database
npm run db:migrate       # Run migrations
npm run db:migrate:undo  # Undo last migration
npm run db:seed          # Seed database
npm run db:reset         # Reset database (drop, create, migrate, seed)

# Other
npm run clean            # Clean build artifacts
npm start                # Start production server

Code Style

We use ESLint and Prettier for consistent code style:

ESLint Config:

// .eslintrc.js
module.exports = {
  extends: ['airbnb-base', 'prettier'],
  plugins: ['prettier'],
  rules: {
    'prettier/prettier': 'error',
    'no-console': process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' ? 'error' : 'off',
    'no-debugger': process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' ? 'error' : 'off',
  },
};

Prettier Config:

{
  "semi": true,
  "singleQuote": true,
  "trailingComma": "es5",
  "printWidth": 100,
  "tabWidth": 2
}

Git Workflow

We follow the Git Flow branching model:

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

# Make changes and commit
git add .
git commit -m "feat: add new feature"

# Push to remote
git push origin feature/your-feature-name

# Create pull request on GitHub

Branch Naming Convention:

• feature/ - New features
• bugfix/ - Bug fixes
• hotfix/ - Urgent production fixes
• refactor/ - Code refactoring
• docs/ - Documentation updates

Commit Message Convention:

We use Conventional Commits:

type(scope): subject

body

footer

Types:

• feat: - New feature
• fix: - Bug fix
• docs: - Documentation changes
• style: - Code style changes (formatting, etc.)
• refactor: - Code refactoring
• test: - Adding or updating tests
• chore: - Maintenance tasks

Examples:

feat(auth): add OAuth2 authentication
fix(api): resolve race condition in order processing
docs(readme): update installation instructions

Testing

Running Tests

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run with coverage
npm run test:coverage

# Run specific test file
npm test -- tests/unit/user.test.js

# Run tests matching pattern
npm test -- --grep "User API"

Writing Tests

Unit Test Example:

// tests/unit/user.service.test.js
const { expect } = require('chai');
const UserService = require('../../src/services/user.service');

describe('UserService', () => {
  describe('createUser', () => {
    it('should create a new user', async () => {
      const userData = {
        email: 'test@example.com',
        password: 'password123',
        name: 'Test User',
      };

      const user = await UserService.createUser(userData);

      expect(user).to.have.property('id');
      expect(user.email).to.equal(userData.email);
      expect(user.password).to.not.equal(userData.password); // Should be hashed
    });

    it('should throw error for duplicate email', async () => {
      const userData = { email: 'existing@example.com' };

      await expect(UserService.createUser(userData)).to.be.rejectedWith(
        'Email already exists'
      );
    });
  });
});

Integration Test Example:

// tests/integration/auth.test.js
const request = require('supertest');
const app = require('../../src/app');

describe('Auth API', () => {
  describe('POST /api/auth/register', () => {
    it('should register a new user', async () => {
      const response = await request(app)
        .post('/api/auth/register')
        .send({
          email: 'newuser@example.com',
          password: 'password123',
          name: 'New User',
        })
        .expect(201);

      expect(response.body).to.have.property('token');
      expect(response.body.user).to.have.property('id');
    });
  });
});

Deployment

Production Build

# Build for production
npm run build

# Start production server
NODE_ENV=production npm start

Docker Deployment

# Dockerfile
FROM node:18-alpine

WORKDIR /app

COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production

COPY . .

EXPOSE 3000

CMD ["npm", "start"]

# Build Docker image
docker build -t myapp:latest .

# Run container
docker run -p 3000:3000 --env-file .env myapp:latest

Environment Variables

Ensure these are set in production:

NODE_ENV=production
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://...
REDIS_URL=redis://...
JWT_SECRET=strong-random-secret
# ... other production configs

Architecture

High-Level Overview

┌─────────────┐
│   Client    │
└──────┬──────┘
       │
       ▼
┌─────────────┐
│ API Gateway │
└──────┬──────┘
       │
       ▼
┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────┐
│  Services   │────▶│ Database │
└──────┬──────┘     └──────────┘
       │
       ▼
┌─────────────┐
│    Cache    │
└─────────────┘

Key Components

• API Layer: Express.js REST API
• Service Layer: Business logic
• Data Layer: PostgreSQL + Redis
• Authentication: JWT-based auth
• Caching: Redis for session and data caching

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details.

Quick Contribution Guide

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Write/update tests
5. Ensure all tests pass
6. Submit a pull request

Code Review Process

1. All PRs require at least one approval
2. CI must pass (tests, linting)
3. Code coverage must not decrease
4. Documentation must be updated

License

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

Support

• Documentation: https://docs.example.com
• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Slack: Join our Slack

Acknowledgments

• List contributors
• Credit third-party libraries
• Thank sponsors

## Best Practices

### ✅ DO
- Start with a clear, concise project description
- Include badges for build status, coverage, etc.
- Provide a quick start section
- Document all prerequisites clearly
- Include troubleshooting section
- Keep README up-to-date
- Use code examples liberally
- Add architecture diagrams
- Document environment variables
- Include contribution guidelines
- Specify code style requirements
- Document testing procedures

### ❌ DON'T
- Assume prior knowledge
- Skip prerequisite documentation
- Forget to update after major changes
- Use overly technical jargon
- Skip example code
- Ignore Windows/Mac/Linux differences
- Forget to document scripts

## Resources

- [Make a README](https://www.makeareadme.com/)
- [Awesome README](https://github.com/matiassingers/awesome-readme)
- [Standard README](https://github.com/RichardLitt/standard-readme)
- [README Template](https://github.com/othneildrew/Best-README-Template)