Creating the application
========================

In this part we are going to create a new Feathers application using the
generator. We can install the generator via:

.. code-block:: sh

   npm install @feathersjs/cli -g

..

.. important:: The prerequisites for this guide are the same as the
   :doc:`../basics/setup`. This means that Node
   8.0.0 (``node --version``) or later is required.

Generating the application
--------------------------

With everything :doc:`../basics/setup`, let’s create a
directory for our new app:

.. code-block:: sh

   $ mkdir feathers-chat
   $ cd feathers-chat/

Now we can generate the application:

.. code-block:: sh

   $ feathers generate app

When presented with the project name, just hit enter, or enter a name
(no spaces).

Next, write a short description of your application.

The next prompt asking for the source folder can be answered by just
hitting enter. This will put all source files into the ``src/`` folder.

The next prompt will ask for the package manager you want to use. The
default is the standard `npm <https://www.npmjs.com/>`_.

.. note:: If you choose `Yarn <https://yarnpkg.com/en/>`_ instead,
   make sure it has been installed via ``npm install yarn -g`` first.

You’re now presented with the option of which transport you want to
support. Since we’re setting up a real-time and REST API, we’ll go with
the default REST and Socket.io options. So just hit enter.

Once you confirm the final prompt, you will see something like this:

.. figure:: ./assets/creating.png
   :alt: Final Configuration

   Final Configuration

The generated files
-------------------

Let’s have a brief look at the files that have been generated:

-  ``config/`` - Contains the configuration files for the app.
   ``production.json`` files override ``default.json`` when in
   production mode by setting ``NODE_ENV=production``. For details, see
   the :doc:`../../api/configuration`.
-  ``node_modules/`` - The generator installs the project dependencies
   either using `npm <https://docs.npmjs.com/>`_, or
   `yarn <https://yarnpkg.com/en/>`_. The dependencies are also added
   in the ``package.json``.
-  ``public/`` - Contains static files to be served. A sample favicon
   and ``index.html`` (which will show up when going directly to the
   server URL) are already included.
-  ``src/`` - Contains the Feathers server code.

   -  :doc:`../basics/hooks`. A simple ``logger`` hook for logging debug information about our service calls is already included
   -  ``middleware/`` contains any `Express middleware <http://expressjs.com/en/guide/writing-middleware.html>`_
   -  :doc:`../basics/services`
   -  ``index.js`` loads and starts the application
   -  :doc:`../basics/starting`
   -  ``app.hooks.js`` contains hooks that apply to every service.
   -  :doc:`../../api/channels`

-  ``test/`` - Contains `Mocha <https://mochajs.org/>`_ test files for
   the app, hooks and services

   -  ``app.test.js`` tests that the index page appears, as well as 404
      errors for HTML pages and JSON

-  ``.editorconfig`` is an `EditorConfig <http://editorconfig.org/>`_
   setting to help developers define and maintain consistent coding
   styles among different editors and IDEs.
-  ``.eslintrc.json`` contains defaults for linting your code with
   `ESLint <http://eslint.org/docs/user-guide/getting-started>`_.
-  ``.gitignore`` - specifies `intentionally untracked
   files <https://git-scm.com/docs/gitignore>`_ which
   `git <https://git-scm.com/>`_, `GitHub <https://github.com/>`_ and
   other similar projects ignore.
-  ``.npmignore`` specifies `files which are not to be
   published <https://docs.npmjs.com/misc/developers#keeping-files-out-of-your-package>`_
   for distribution.
-  ``LICENSE`` - contains the License so that people know how they are
   permitted to use it, and any restrictions you’re placing on it. It
   defaults to the Feathers license.
-  ``package.json`` contains
   `information <https://docs.npmjs.com/files/package.json>`_ about our
   project which `npm <https://docs.npmjs.com/>`_,
   `yarn <https://yarnpkg.com/en/>`_ and other package managers need to
   install and use your package.

Running the server and tests
----------------------------

The server can now be started by running

.. code-block:: sh

   npm start

After that, you can see a welcome page at
`localhost:3030 <http://localhost:3030>`_. When making modifications,
remember to stop (CTRL + C) and start the server again.

The app also comes with a set of basic tests which can be run with

.. code-block:: sh

   npm test

What’s next?
------------

We scaffolded a new Feathers application. The next step is to :doc:`./service`.