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Directory Structure

Directory structure may feel overwhelming at first since there are a handful of pre-configured directories. Gradually you will understand the benefit of dividing the logical entities into multiple directories since it keeps your code maintainable and easy to search.

├── app
│   ├── Commands
│   ├── Http
│   ├── Listeners
│   ├── Model
├── bootstrap
├── config
├── database
│   ├── migrations
│   └── seeds
├── providers
├── public
├── resources
│   └── views
├── storage

The (app) Directory

Make sure to learn more about Dependency injection and Ioc Container to understand the concept of Autoloading.

The app directory is the home for your code and is autoloaded under the namespace App. If you will open package.json file, you will find the following piece of code inside it.

{
  "autoload": {
    "App": "./app"
  }
}

You are free to change the namespace from App to anything you want. Of course, sticking to the default makes it easier for others to understand the code flow.

Also, the app directory has nested directories for different purposes. All directories inside the app directory are capitalized since AdonisJs follows the principles of Namespacing. Unfortunately, Javascript or Node.js has no conventions on namespacing, so we borrow the standards/best practices from other programming languages like Php.

Directory Purpose

Commands

This directory is dedicated for storing Ace commands. Ideally, a single file represents an individual command.

Http

As the name conveys, Http directory is dedicated to entities related to an HTTP server, like: Controllers, Middleware, and Routes.

Listeners

Listeners directory makes it easier to organize your event listeners since inline closures on events are not maintainable and neither testable. Also feel free to create listeners for Redis Pub/Sub inside this directory.

Model

Model directory has your Lucid models. Also, there is a Hooks directory inside this directory to store Model hooks.

The (bootstrap) Directory

The bootstrap directory is there to join the pieces of your application for HTTP server and ace commands. There are a few files that you need to work with inside this directory.

File Purpose

app.js

This file is used to register service providers/commands and setup aliases for frequently used namespaces.

events.js

You can use this file to register listeners for specifics events. Like Listeners directory, you can also use this file to register listeners for Redis Pub/Sub.

extend.js

This file is used to extend the core/3rd party service providers.
To keep future upgrades easy and simple it is recommended you should not modify bootstrap/http.js and bootstrap/kernel.js file.

The (config) Directory

The config directory is used to define configuration for your application. AdonisJs itself ships with a bunch of config files, but you are also free to create your config files.

In order, you read the configuration settings from any file you are supposed to make use of the Config provider and do not require files manually in your code.

Wrong
const app = require('./config/app.js')
console.log(app.appKey)
Right
const Config = use('Config')
console.log(Config.get('app.appKey'))

The (database) Directory

All database related files are stored inside the database directory. Since SQLite is a file based database, the SQLite file will be stored in this directory too.

Directory/File Purpose

migrations

This directory has all the migrations you have created using the make:migration command. Learn more about migrations here.

seeds

Seeds are used to prefill database with dummy data. They are helpful in setting up an initial state of your application.

factory.js

Factories are used to generate fake data for Lucid models or database tables. You will find yourself using factories a lot when writing tests. factory.js is the place you define blueprints for the dummy data.

The (providers) Directory

If you ever feel a need for writing your providers, this is the place to keep them in. It is advisable to publish reusable providers on npm.

Ideally, there are no strict rules of creating providers, just make sure to read the service providers documentation to understand how to build your providers. Service providers inside the providers directory are registered by defining an absolute path inside the app.js file.

bootstrap/app.js
const path = require('path')

const providers = [
  path.join(__dirname, '../providers/MyAwesomeProvider')
]

The (public) Directory

As the name suggests the public directory is used to serve static assets over HTTP. The path /public is not required when referencing files from this directory. For example:

public/style.css
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/style.css" />

The (resources) Directory

The resources directory is there to store presentational files for your application. Nunjucks views are also stored in this directory, and you are free to create additional directories for storing Sass/Less or any frontend build related files.

Directory Purpose

views

Nunjucks views are stored inside this directory. Feel free to create additional directories inside views for creating partials or layouts.

The (storage) Directory

Application logs and sessions are stored inside storage directory. Think of it as a temporary storage for your application. Also, this directory is added to the .gitignore, so that your development related logs/sessions are not committed to version control providers like Github or Bitbucket.