Skip to main content
This guide walks you through setting up the E-Commerce API for local development.

​
Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:
  • Node.js (v14 or higher)
  • npm or yarn
  • MySQL (v8.0 or higher)
  • ngrok (optional, for webhook testing)

​
Installation

1

Clone the repository

Clone the project repository to your local machine:
git clone <repository-url>
cd e-comm-api
2

Install dependencies

Install all required npm packages:
npm install
This will install the following key dependencies:
  • express - Web framework
  • mysql2 - MySQL database driver
  • jsonwebtoken - JWT authentication
  • bcrypt - Password hashing
  • multer - File upload handling
  • express-rate-limit - Rate limiting
  • dotenv - Environment variable management
  • cors - Cross-origin resource sharing
  • swagger-ui-express - API documentation
3

Set up the database

Create a new MySQL database for the application:
CREATE DATABASE ecommerce_db;
You’ll need to create the required tables for users, products, categories, orders, cart, reviews, and addresses. Refer to your database schema documentation for the complete table structure.
4

Configure environment variables

Create a .env file in the root directory with your configuration:
cp .env.example .env
See the Configuration guide for detailed information about all available environment variables.
5

Start the development server

Run the application in development mode with auto-reload:
npm run dev
The server will start on the configured port (default: 5000):
Server running on http://localhost:5000
Connected to MySQL database.
API Docs available at http://localhost:5000/docs

​
Development scripts

The following npm scripts are available for development: 
npm run dev

​
Script descriptions

  • npm run dev - Starts the server with nodemon for automatic reloading during development
  • npm start - Starts the server in production mode
  • npm run tunnel - Creates an ngrok tunnel to expose your local server to the internet

​
Setting up ngrok tunnel

For testing webhooks or allowing external access to your local server, you can use the ngrok tunnel: 
npm run tunnel
This command runs: 
ngrok http --url=loving-liger-previously.ngrok-free.app 5000
The ngrok URL in package.json is pre-configured. You may need to update it with your own ngrok domain if you have a paid ngrok account, or remove the --url parameter to use a random ngrok URL.

​
Verify installation

Once the server is running, you can verify the installation:
1

Check the health endpoint

Visit http://localhost:5000/docs to see the Swagger API documentation.
2

Test API authentication

All API requests require an API key. Include it in your request headers:
curl -H "x-api-key: your-api-key" http://localhost:5000/api/products

​
Project structure

After setup, your project structure should look like this: 
e-comm-api/
├── config/          # Database and configuration files
├── controllers/     # Request handlers
├── middlewares/     # Custom middleware (auth, file upload, logging)
├── routes/          # API route definitions
├── docs/            # Swagger documentation
├── uploads/         # File upload directory
├── logs/            # Application logs
├── app.mjs          # Main application file
├── package.json     # Dependencies and scripts
└── .env             # Environment variables

​
Next steps

Configuration

Learn about environment variables and configuration options

Authentication

Understand how to authenticate API requests
The API includes built-in Swagger documentation. Once your server is running, visit /docs to explore all available endpoints interactively.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us