Step 2: Project Structure and Configuration

After creating your project, you'll see the following directory structure:

my-app/
├── server/
│   ├── boot.ts          # Express app bootstrap
│   ├── server.ts        # NoEgo server entry
│   ├── controller/      # HTTP controllers
│   ├── service/         # Business logic services
│   ├── repo/            # Database access layer
│   └── openapi/         # API route definitions
├── frontend/
│   ├── client.ts        # NoEgo client entry
│   ├── index.html       # HTML shell template
│   ├── component/       # Svelte components
│   ├── lib/             # Frontend utilities (navigate, formatters)
│   ├── layout/          # Page layouts
│   ├── pages/           # Page components
│   ├── openapi/         # UI route definitions
│   └── stitch.yaml      # UI configuration
├── migrations/          # Database migrations
├── noego.config.yml     # NoEgo configuration
├── proper.json          # Migration configuration
├── tsconfig.json        # TypeScript configuration
└── package.json         # Dependencies and scripts

Here's how a request flows through NoEgo's layered architecture:

Your project includes several configuration files. You don't need to modify these to get started - the defaults work out of the box.

• tsconfig.json - TypeScript settings with decorators enabled for dependency injection
• proper.json - Database migration configuration
• frontend/stitch.yaml - Tells Forge where to find your UI OpenAPI routes
• server/stitch.yaml - Tells Dinner where to find your API OpenAPI routes
• noego.config.yml - Build and dev server settings
• vite.config.js - Frontend build configuration (Vite + Svelte)

Open these files in your project to see the full configuration. We'll explore specific options as needed in later steps.

NoEgo reads environment variables from process.env. It does not auto-load a .env file, so you have two common options:

• Load .env yourself (e.g., import "dotenv/config" in server/boot.ts)
• Set variables in your shell before running noego dev

# Server configuration
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development

# Database connection
DATABASE_URL=./data/app.sqlite

# Application secrets
SESSION_SECRET=your-secret-key-here

Access these variables in your code using process.env:

import "dotenv/config";
import express from "express";

export default function boot() {
  const app = express();
  app.use(express.json());

  const dbUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL;
  return app;
}

Important: Never commit your .env file to version control. Create a .env.example file with placeholder values for documentation.

NoEgo makes both development and deployment simple:

Development Mode (npx noego dev)

• Changes appear instantly—no manual refresh needed
• Helpful error messages to fix issues fast

Production Mode (npx noego build)

• Optimized output in dist/
• Run with node dist/no_ego.js

Now that you understand the project structure and configuration, let's create your first Svelte page and learn the basics of Forge routing.