Project Organization

Understanding how to organize your HonestJS application is crucial for building maintainable and scalable projects. This guide covers the recommended folder structure and organizational patterns.

Recommended Folder Structure

HonestJS applications follow a well-organized folder structure that promotes maintainability and scalability:

Project
├── src
│   ├── app.module.ts          # Root application module
│   ├── main.ts                # Application entry point
│   ├── components/            # Global/shared components
│   │   ├── Footer.tsx
│   │   └── Header.tsx
│   ├── decorators/            # Custom decorators
│   │   └── parameter.decorator.ts
│   ├── layouts/               # Layout components
│   │   └── MainLayout.tsx
│   └── modules/               # Feature modules
│       └── users/             # Example: Users module
│           ├── components/     # Module-specific components
│           │   └── UserList.tsx
│           ├── dtos/          # Data Transfer Objects
│           │   └── create-user.dto.ts
│           ├── models/        # Data models
│           │   └── user.model.ts
│           ├── users.controller.ts
│           ├── users.module.ts
│           ├── users.service.ts
│           ├── users.service.test.ts
│           └── users.view.tsx
├── static/                    # Static assets
│   ├── css/
│   │   ├── main.css          # Global styles
│   │   └── views/            # View-specific styles
│   │       └── users.css
│   └── js/
│       ├── main.js           # Global scripts
│       └── views/            # View-specific scripts
│           └── users.js
└── tests/                     # Test files
    └── users/
        └── users.service.test.ts

Key Organizational Principles

• Modular Structure: Each feature is organized into its own module with related components
• Separation of Concerns: Controllers, services, and views are clearly separated
• Reusable Components: Global components can be shared across modules
• Static Assets: CSS and JavaScript files are organized by scope (global vs. view-specific)
• Testing: Test files are co-located with the code they test

Module Organization

Each feature in your application should be organized into its own module. A module typically contains:

Core Module Files

• Controller: Handles HTTP requests and responses
• Service: Contains business logic and data access
• Module: Defines the module configuration and dependencies
• Views: JSX components for rendering HTML (if using MVC)

Supporting Files

• DTOs: Data Transfer Objects for input validation
• Models: Data structures and type definitions
• Components: Module-specific UI components
• Tests: Unit and integration tests

Example Module Structure

// users.module.ts
@Module({
	controllers: [UsersController],
	services: [UsersService]
})
class UsersModule {}

// users.controller.ts
@Controller('users')
class UsersController {
	constructor(private readonly usersService: UsersService) {}

	@Get()
	async getUsers() {
		return await this.usersService.findAll()
	}
}

// users.service.ts
@Service()
class UsersService {
	async findAll() {
		// Business logic here
	}
}

Component Organization

HonestJS supports both global and module-specific components:

Global Components

Global components are available throughout the entire application and are typically defined in the root module or configuration:

// Global middleware, guards, pipes, and filters
const { app, hono } = await Application.create(AppModule, {
	components: {
		middleware: [new LoggerMiddleware()],
		guards: [AuthGuard],
		pipes: [ValidationPipe],
		filters: [HttpExceptionFilter]
	}
})

Module-Specific Components

Module-specific components are scoped to a particular feature and can be applied at the controller or handler level:

@Module({
	controllers: [UsersController],
	services: [UsersService]
})
class UsersModule {}

// Or at the controller level
@Controller('users')
@UseMiddleware(UsersMiddleware)
@UseGuards(UsersGuard)
class UsersController {}

// Or at the handler level
@Controller('users')
class UsersController {
	@Get()
	@UseGuards(AdminGuard)
	@UsePipes(CustomPipe)
	getUsers() {}
}

Static Asset Organization

Static assets are organized to support both global and view-specific styling and scripting:

Global Assets

• main.css and main.js contain styles and scripts used across the entire application
• These files are typically loaded on every page

View-Specific Assets

• View-specific CSS and JS files are organized in subdirectories to avoid conflicts
• Enables lazy loading and better performance
• Example: static/css/views/users.css for user-specific styles

Layout and Component Organization

Global Components

Components that are used across multiple modules should be placed in the global components/ directory:

// src/components/Header.tsx
export function Header() {
	return (
		<header>
			<nav>
				<a href='/'>Home</a>
				<a href='/users'>Users</a>
			</nav>
		</header>
	)
}

// src/components/Footer.tsx
export function Footer() {
	return (
		<footer>
			<p>&copy; 2024 My App</p>
		</footer>
	)
}

Layout Components

Layout components define the overall structure of your application:

// src/layouts/MainLayout.tsx
import { Header } from '../components/Header'
import { Footer } from '../components/Footer'

export function MainLayout({ children, title }: { children: any; title: string }) {
	return (
		<html>
			<head>
				<title>{title}</title>
				<link rel='stylesheet' href='/css/main.css' />
			</head>
			<body>
				<Header />
				<main>{children}</main>
				<Footer />
				<script src='/js/main.js'></script>
			</body>
		</html>
	)
}

Testing Organization

Tests should be co-located with the code they test:

// src/modules/users/users.service.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect } from 'bun:test'
import { UsersService } from './users.service'

describe('UsersService', () => {
	it('should return all users', async () => {
		const service = new UsersService()
		const users = await service.findAll()
		expect(users).toBeDefined()
	})
})

Best Practices

1. Keep Modules Focused: Each module should have a single responsibility
2. Use Consistent Naming: Follow consistent naming conventions for files and directories
3. Co-locate Related Files: Keep related files close together (e.g., service and its tests)
4. Separate Concerns: Keep business logic, presentation, and data access separate
5. Plan for Growth: Structure your application to accommodate future features
6. Follow Conventions: Stick to established patterns for better maintainability
7. Document Structure: Keep your folder structure documented for team members

Example: Complete Module Structure

Here's a complete example of how a users module might be organized:

src/modules/users/
├── components/
│   ├── UserList.tsx          # User list component
│   ├── UserForm.tsx          # User form component
│   └── UserCard.tsx          # Individual user card
├── dtos/
│   ├── create-user.dto.ts    # Create user validation
│   ├── update-user.dto.ts    # Update user validation
│   └── user-query.dto.ts     # User query parameters
├── models/
│   └── user.model.ts         # User data model
├── users.controller.ts        # HTTP request handling
├── users.module.ts           # Module configuration
├── users.service.ts          # Business logic
├── users.service.test.ts     # Service tests
└── users.view.tsx            # Main users view

This organization makes it easy to:

• Find related code quickly
• Understand the module's structure at a glance
• Maintain separation of concerns
• Scale the application as it grows

Next Steps

Now that you understand project organization, explore:

• Getting Started - Build your first application
• Modules - Learn about module configuration
• Components - Understand the component system
• MVC Support - Build full-stack applications