Building Full-Stack Applications with NestJS and React

Introduction

Building full-stack applications requires careful consideration of architecture, state management, and deployment strategies. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore how to create scalable applications using NestJS for the backend and React for the frontend.

Architecture Overview

Our full-stack application will follow a modern architecture pattern with clear separation of concerns:

• Backend (NestJS): RESTful APIs, authentication, database operations
• Frontend (React): User interface, state management, API integration
• Database: PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM
• Authentication: JWT-based authentication

Setting Up the Backend

Let's start by setting up our NestJS backend with proper structure and configuration:

npm install -g @nestjs/cli
nest new backend
cd backend
npm install @nestjs/typeorm typeorm pg prisma @prisma/client

Database Configuration

Configure Prisma for database management:

npx prisma init
npx prisma generate
npx prisma db push

API Development

Create RESTful endpoints with proper validation and error handling:

@Controller('users')
    export class UsersController {
    constructor(private readonly usersService: UsersService) {}
    
    @Get()
    async findAll(): Promise {
        return this.usersService.findAll();
    }
    }

Frontend Setup

Set up React frontend with modern tooling:

npx create-react-app frontend --template typescript
cd frontend
npm install axios react-router-dom @tanstack/react-query

State Management

Implement efficient state management using React Query for server state and Context API for client state.

Authentication Flow

Implement secure authentication with JWT tokens and proper token storage.

Deployment Strategy

Deploy your application using modern cloud platforms like Vercel for frontend and Railway for backend.

Conclusion

Building full-stack applications with NestJS and React provides a robust foundation for scalable web applications. By following these best practices, you can create maintainable and performant applications.