kale.js

The node.js framework for developers who deliver on time.

What is it?

Kale.js is a set of lightweight, opinionated generators for building highly-scalable koa-based node.js APIs with ease and speed.

Kale.js consists of 6 Generators:

• one to build an app,
• one to build a controller,
• one to build a model,
• one to build a set of views,
• one to build a migration, and
• one to build scaffolding.

Overall, Kale.js builds apps that are fast, easy-to-read, and follow industry best practices.

A Kale.js application:

• Built on koa and makes heavy use of ES6 Promises.
• Uses bookshelf.js for an ORM.
• Backed by Postgresql by default.
• Includes basic single-page-app using AngularJS, installed with bower.
• Includes an asset pipeline using Broccoli with development file watching and reload.
• Front-end javascript uses browserify for node-style require statements.
• Sets up Gulp with basic linting with jshint and code-style checking with jscs
• Front-end stylesheets are compiled with SASS/SCSS.
• Generates models with UUIDs as the primary key by default.
• Is a stateless, secure JSON API.
  • Does not include cookies or cookie-based sessions by default (so no need for CSRF protection)
• Security headers provided by helmet, and CORS.
• Includes environment-specific config according to the 12-factor app methodology.
• Includes a Procfile for easy deployment to heroku.

Installation

npm install -g kalejs

Usage

To start a new project, simply run kale new <project_name>, for example:

kale new example-app

This will build a new kale.js app in ./example-app.

From the root of the new project, run ./bin/setup, then npm start and you'll have a server running.

The app structure will look like:

app/
  assets/             <-- front-end app (Angular)
    bower_components  <-- bower-based installed assets
    images/           <-- static images
    javascripts/      <-- static js files
    stylesheets/      <-- static css (less) files
    views/            <-- static html page

  controllers/        <-- API controllers
  middleware/         <-- API middleware
  models/             <-- Bookshelf models

  index.js            <-- app entry point
  routes.js           <-- API routes

bin/                  <-- binary files

config/               <-- app config
  environments/       <-- environment specific config

db/                   <-- database config, initialization
  migrations/         <-- database migrations

public/               <-- static/public files live here
  assets/             <-- asset pipeline compiles app/assets to this directory

test/                 <-- tests

Generators

kale.js comes equipped with a several generators to speed up development:

Model Generator

kale generate model Thing

This will create a new Thing model (referencing a things table) named thing.js in the app/models directory.

This will also create an empty migration named <timestamp>_create_things.js in the db/migrations directory.

Controller Generator

kale generate controller users

This will create a new RESTful controller named users in the app/controllers directory.

The controller contains index, show, create, update, and destroy methods, as well as their routes.

View Generator

kale generate view users

This will create a new set of AngularJS views under /users in app/assets/views and app/assets/javascripts.

Migration Generator

kale generate migration create_users

This will create a new migration named <timestamp>_create_users.js in db/migrations directory.

Scaffold Generator

kale generate scaffold User

This will run the model, migration and controller generators for a new User model.

Examples

To generate a simple Blog API, type the following:

npm install -g kalejs
kale new blog
cd blog
./bin/setup
kale generate scaffold Posts
kale migrate
npm start