The Node.js Setup I Use on Every New Project (2026 Edition) This is my complete starter setup. Copy it, customize it, start building. Step 1: Initialize mkdir my-project && cd my-project npm init -y # Essential packages npm install express zod helmet cors morgan dotenv npm install -D typescript @types/node @types/express tsup jest @types/jest nodemon tsx eslint prettier # Git init git init echo "node_modules/ \n dist/ \n .env \n .env.local" > .gitignore Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode Step 2: TypeScript Config // tsconfig.json — Strict but practical { "compilerOptions" : { "target" : "ES2022" , "module" : "NodeNext" , "moduleResolution" : "NodeNext" , "lib" : [ "ES2022" ], "outDir" : "./dist" , "rootDir" : "./src" , "strict" : true , "esModuleInterop" : true , "skipLibCheck" : true , "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames" : true , "resolveJsonModule" : true , "declaration" : true , "declarationMap" : true , "sourceMap" : true , "noUncheckedIndexedAccess" : true , // Catches arr[0] undefined…