API Project Set-Up [Node]

What You'll Build
A fully working Employee Management REST API with:

• CRUD endpoints (POST, GET, PATCH, DELETE /employees)
• Pagination, sorting, and filtering on the list endpoint
• Strong runtime validation via zod
• A typed, schema-first database layer via Drizzle ORM
• Environment-aware configuration (development / production)
• A multi-database PostgreSQL setup orchestrated via Docker Compose
• A seed script to populate sample data
• A REST Client app.http file to exercise every endpoint

What You'll Learn
By the end of this workshop you'll be able to:

• Scaffold a NestJS application from scratch with @nestjs/cli.
• Containerize a Node.js API using a multi-stage Dockerfile and Docker Compose.
• Run PostgreSQL in Docker with auto-created databases via init scripts.
• Load environment variables dynamically from .env.${NODE_ENV} files.
• Wire up Drizzle ORM as a global NestJS module with proper lifecycle hooks.
• Define a database schema in TypeScript and generate SQL migrations.
• Validate request bodies and query params with zod using custom decorators (no class-validator).
• Implement pagination, sorting, and filtering the right way.
• Translate database errors (e.g. unique_violation) into proper HTTP responses (409 Conflict).
• Write a seed script that works across environments.
• Test the API end-to-end using the VS Code REST Client.

Prerequisites
Please install before the event:

• Node.js : ≥ 22 Download here
• pnpm: ≥ 9
• corepack enable && corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate
• Docker Engine: ≥ 20.10 (With the Compose v2 plugin, docker compose, not docker-compose)
• Git: latest Download here
• VS Code: latest Download here
• VS Code extensions:
• REST Client, ESLint, Prettier

A working internet connection is required to download Docker images and npm packages.