Use when creating, modernizing, or production-hardening a Node.js backend service after backend architecture is approved or intentionally deferred. Produces a framework-aware (Express, Fastify, or NestJS) TypeScript service shell with fail-fast validated configuration, a structured pino logging seam, liveness and readiness probes, layered error handling (uncaughtException, unhandledRejection, framework error handler, graceful shutdown), an AsyncLocalStorage request context, a DI container shell downstream archetypes extend, and a non-root multi-stage container image without baked secrets. Do not use for auth flow implementation, observability vendor wiring, queue or event integration, or performance and resilience gating; use the other Node.js archetype skills instead.
Use when creating, modernizing, or production-hardening a Node.js backend service after backend architecture is approved or intentionally deferred. Produces a framework-aware (Express, Fastify, or NestJS) TypeScript service shell with fail-fast validated configuration, a structured pino logging seam, liveness and readiness probes, layered error handling (uncaughtException, unhandledRejection, framework error handler, graceful shutdown), an AsyncLocalStorage request context, a DI container shell downstream archetypes extend, and a non-root multi-stage container image without baked secrets. Do not use for auth flow implementation, observability vendor wiring, queue or event integration, or performance and resilience gating; use the other Node.js archetype skills instead.
Node.js Service Scaffold
When to use
Invoke when starting a new Node.js backend service, standardizing an existing service baseline, modernizing a service that lacks validated config, structured logging, health probes, or layered error handling, or preparing a Node.js service for container deployment.
Do not use for: auth, session, or OWASP review work (use nodejs-auth-and-security-review), observability vendor wiring — OpenTelemetry, prom-client, SLO/alerts (use nodejs-observability-readiness), queue, broker, or event integration (use nodejs-queue-and-event-integration), or performance and resilience gating — backpressure, circuit breakers, load-test gates (use nodejs-performance-and-resilience).
Inputs
Required:
Service name and the business capability it serves.
Approved backend-architecture.md, or explicit confirmation that backend architecture is intentionally deferred.
Optional:
Approved architecture/security decisions on auth provider, session model, and secret handling.
Framework choice if backend-architecture.md is silent (Fastify default for new services; Express for ecosystem-constrained services; NestJS if a module/DI framework is mandated).
DI container preference if silent (the framework's built-in for NestJS; awilix default otherwise).
Data layer named by architecture (Prisma / Drizzle / TypeORM) — registered as a seam only, not implemented here.
Target Node.js LTS (20+ default), package manager, and monorepo vs single-service repo placement.
Operating rules
Never generate tutorial-grade scaffolding. Assume multiple environments, structured logging, container deployment, graceful shutdown, and operational ownership.
Consume backend-architecture.md; do not invent decisions. Framework, domain boundaries, data layer, and contracts belong to backend-architecture.md; auth provider and secret handling belong to architecture/security. If either is silent on a decision this scaffold needs, pause and raise an ADR candidate rather than guessing.
Owns the DI and principal-provider baseline only — the shell, not the flow. Token verification, session, and protected-route logic belong to nodejs-auth-and-security-review. Scaffold the seam; do not implement the flow.
Secure by default: configuration is validated at boot and fails fast; no secrets in source, committed config, the image, or .env; the container runs as a non-root user from a digest-pinned base image.
Configuration is validated, not read ad hoc: a single typed, frozen config object built from a schema (zod or equivalent) at startup. Missing or malformed required variables abort boot with a clear message — never a runtime undefined.
Error handling is layered in a specific order: process.on('uncaughtException') and process.on('unhandledRejection') (log fatal, flush, exit non-zero) → the framework error handler (Express error middleware / Fastify setErrorHandler / Nest exception filter; structured body, no stack or internals in non-dev) → graceful shutdown on SIGTERM/SIGINT (stop accepting, drain in-flight, close server and registered resources within a bounded timeout, then exit). All four are required.
Observability is a seam, not an implementation: a structured pino logger bound to an AsyncLocalStorage request context (request id correlated) is mandatory in the baseline; OpenTelemetry, metrics, and alerting are explicitly deferred to nodejs-observability-readiness behind a no-op tracer/metrics interface.
Health probes are mandatory: a liveness endpoint (process is up) and a readiness endpoint (registered dependency checks pass) are separate and wired before any feature route.
A scaffold that does not build is not done. Run typecheck, lint, the test run, and a boot smoke check before declaring completion; fix and re-run on failure.
Confirm the target directory before writing files. Recommend services/<service-name>/ in a monorepo or repo root for a single-service repo. Refuse to write into a plugin or skill repository without explicit user override.
Output contract
The generated service shell MUST conform to:
deployment-standards — env-agnostic image; runtime config injected, not baked; one artifact per environment; non-root container.
observability-standards — structured logging with request-id correlation and an environment tag; tracer/metrics seam present.
security-standards — no secrets in source, committed config, or image; config fails fast on missing required secrets.
Upstream contract: backend-architecture.md is the source of truth for framework, domain boundaries, data layer, and contracts; architecture/security is the source of truth for auth provider, session model, and secret handling. If either is silent on a decision this scaffold needs, pause and raise an ADR candidate rather than guessing.
Progressive references
Read references/nodejs-scaffold-playbook.md when implementing any owned area or checking the anti-pattern list.
Read references/nodejs-scaffold-quality-rubric.md before declaring the scaffold complete.
Use assets/nodejs-service-scaffold.template.md as the directory-layout, config, and entry-point reference.
Process
Gather context: service name, business capability, target directory, target Node LTS, package manager, and the auth provider decision from architecture/security. Load backend-architecture.md and extract framework, domain boundaries, data layer, and contracts. If a needed decision is missing, raise an ADR candidate before proceeding. Confirm the target directory is not a plugin or skill repository.
Generate the project layout: package.json (deps pinned exactly — no ^ or ~, engines.node set), tsconfig.json (strict: true), eslint/lint config, .gitignore, and the directory structure (feature/domain layout per backend-architecture.md). Reference assets/nodejs-service-scaffold.template.md for the canonical layout.
Generate validated configuration: a schema (zod or equivalent) in src/config/index.ts parsing process.env at boot, producing a single frozen typed config object; abort with a clear message on any missing or malformed required variable. Create .env.example documenting every variable with placeholder values only.
Generate the structured logging and request-context seam: a pino logger in src/observability/logger.ts; an AsyncLocalStorage request context in src/observability/context.ts; framework middleware/hook that assigns or propagates a request id and binds a child logger. Add a no-op tracer/metrics interface in src/observability/telemetry.ts with explicit TODO comments naming nodejs-observability-readiness as the owner.
Generate the layered error handling: process-level uncaughtException and unhandledRejection handlers (log fatal, flush logs, exit non-zero) in src/server/process-handlers.ts; the framework error handler (Express error middleware / Fastify setErrorHandler / Nest exception filter) returning a structured body with no stack or internals in non-dev; graceful shutdown on SIGTERM/SIGINT in src/server/shutdown.ts that stops accepting connections, drains in-flight requests, closes the server and registered resource hooks within a bounded timeout, then exits.
Generate health probes: a liveness endpoint (/healthz) returning 200 when the process is up, and a readiness endpoint () iterating registered dependency-check hooks and returning 503 until all pass. Wire both before any feature route.
Outputs
Required:
TypeScript service source tree with package.json (pinned deps, engines.node), tsconfig.json (strict), and lint config.
Validated, frozen typed configuration with fail-fast boot and .env.example.
Separate liveness (/healthz) and readiness (/readyz) probes.
DI container with a typed principal-provider shell (auth flow explicitly deferred).
Multi-stage non-root Dockerfile from a digest-pinned base, .dockerignore, documented HEALTHCHECK.
Service README listing all seams downstream archetypes fill.
Output rules:
Generated files are functional and the service boots, not placeholder-heavy.
No secrets in source, committed config, .env.example, or the image.
The principal provider is a seam, not a flow — token verification, session, and route guards are explicitly deferred to nodejs-auth-and-security-review.
The same image runs in every environment; configuration arrives at runtime via environment variables.
Quality checks
tsc --noEmit reports zero errors and the lint command passes.
The test command runs and the boot smoke check (GET /healthz → 200, clean shutdown) passes, or a skip is documented with reason.
package.json pins every dependency (no ^/~) and sets engines.node.
Configuration is schema-validated at boot and aborts on a missing required variable — verified by removing one required var and observing a clear non-zero exit.
No secrets appear in source, committed config, .env.example, or the built image.
All four error layers are wired: uncaughtException, unhandledRejection, framework error handler, graceful shutdown on SIGTERM/SIGINT.
The framework error handler returns no stack trace or internal details in non-dev environments.
/healthz and /readyz are separate; /readyz returns 503 until registered dependency checks pass.
The pino logger binds a request id from AsyncLocalStorage; the tracer/metrics seam is a no-op with a TODO naming nodejs-observability-readiness.
The DI principal provider is a typed shell tied to an architecture/security decision; token/session logic is explicitly deferred with TODO comments.
The Dockerfile is multi-stage, runs as non-root, uses a digest-pinned base, and bakes no secrets.
The service README lists all seams downstream archetypes are expected to fill.
Generate the DI and principal-provider baseline: the container from backend-architecture.md (Nest built-in, or awilix/tsyringe) in src/container/index.ts. Register the principal/auth-context provider as a typed shell. Add explicit TODO comments naming nodejs-auth-and-security-review as the owner of token verification, session, and protected-route logic, and the data-layer client as a seam owned by the data implementation.
Generate container packaging: a multi-stage Dockerfile (build stage, slim runtime stage) running as a non-root user from a digest-pinned base image, a .dockerignore, and a documented HEALTHCHECK hitting /healthz. No secrets baked; runtime config arrives via environment.
Generate local-run documentation in the service README: how to run each environment, every required environment variable (mirrored from .env.example), the runtime-config contract, and the explicit table of seams downstream archetypes fill (auth, observability vendor, queue/event, performance gates, data layer).
Build verification (mandatory): run tsc --noEmit, the lint command, the test command (vitest/jest), and a boot smoke check (start the server, assert GET /healthz returns 200, shut down cleanly). Fix and re-run on failure. Then validate against the standards in the Output contract; revise until all pass or explicitly document any unresolved gap in the README.
