GitHub Copilot Instructions for Node App Template

Related Templates (Choose the Right Template First)

This repository is a GitHub Template Repo for Node.js apps and services.

If you are building…	Pick this template
Web APIs, workers, long-running services	node-app-template
Command-line tools and terminal workflows	node-cli-template
Reusable libraries published for import	node-module-template

Default behavior in this repo: proceed in app/service mode.

Fast Path

• Use ESM only (import / export)
• Keep implementation in lib/ and thin execution in index.js
• Write runtime tests in test/*.spec.js with node:test + node:assert/strict
• Write type tests in typetests/*.tst.ts with tstyche
• Validate with npm test before finalizing

Commands

• npm run dev - run the app in watch mode
• npm run husky-enable - enable git hooks (opt-in)
• npm run husky-disable - disable git hooks
• npm run test:node - runtime tests with coverage
• npm run check-type-tests - type-level tests
• npm test - full checks + tests

Lockfile policy: this app template keeps package-lock.json committed.

Guardrails

MUST

• Keep changes minimal and template-focused
• Update tests when behavior changes
• Keep docs aligned with actual scripts

ASK FIRST

• Runtime dependency changes
• Public API shape changes
• Large file moves or broad refactors

NEVER

• Introduce CommonJS runtime code
• Claim validation without running it
• Leave template docs with stale commands