NestJS MongoDB Blog API Template – Full Featured REST Backend for Blogs

Building a scalable blog backend requires a well-structured architecture, authentication system, and properly documented APIs. The NestJS MongoDB Blog API is a production-ready backend template designed to help developers quickly build modern blog platforms using NestJS, MongoDB, JWT authentication, and Swagger documentation.

This project provides a complete RESTful API including modules for users, posts, categories, tags, comments, authentication, and role-based access control.

Repository: https://github.com/bfotool/nestjs-mongodb-blog-base

What is NestJS MongoDB Blog API

The NestJS MongoDB Blog API is an open-source backend template built with NestJS 11 and MongoDB that provides a fully functional blog REST API.

It is designed to serve as a foundation for building:

• Blog platforms

• Headless CMS systems

• Content publishing APIs

• Documentation websites

• Developer portfolio blogs

The project follows the modular architecture recommended by NestJS, ensuring scalability and maintainability.

Repository: https://github.com/bfotool/nestjs-mongodb-blog-base

Key Features

Authentication and Authorization

The API includes a secure authentication system using JWT tokens.

Main authentication features include:

• JWT Access and Refresh Tokens

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

• Password hashing with bcrypt

• Protected API routes using Guards

• Token refresh mechanism

Three default user roles are supported:

• Admin

• Author

• Reader

This makes it easy to manage permissions across different API endpoints.

Full Blog Modules

The project includes several fully implemented modules that cover all core blog functionality.

Auth Module

Handles authentication and user sessions.

Endpoints include:

• POST /auth/register

• POST /auth/login

• POST /auth/refresh

• POST /auth/logout

• GET /auth/profile

Users Module

Manages user accounts and profiles.

Endpoints:

• GET /users

• GET /users/:id

• PATCH /users/:id

• DELETE /users/:id

Write operations require Admin permissions.

Posts Module

The posts module manages blog content.

Features include:

• Pagination

• Filtering by category, tag, or author

• Sorting

• Full-text search

• Featured posts

Endpoints:

• GET /posts

• GET /posts/featured

• GET /posts/:slug

• POST /posts

• PATCH /posts/:id

• DELETE /posts/:id

Categories Module

Organizes blog posts into categories.

Endpoints:

• GET /categories

• GET /categories/:slug

• POST /categories

• PATCH /categories/:id

• DELETE /categories/:id

Tags Module

Allows flexible tagging for blog posts.

Endpoints:

• GET /tags

• GET /tags/:slug

• POST /tags

• PATCH /tags/:id

• DELETE /tags/:id

Comments Module

Supports comment threads and nested replies.

Endpoints:

• GET /comments/post/:postId

• GET /comments/:id/replies

• POST /comments

• PATCH /comments/:id

• DELETE /comments/:id

API Capabilities

Pagination

All list endpoints support pagination.

Example:

GET /posts?page=1&limit=6

Filtering

Posts can be filtered by category, tag, or author.

Example:

GET /posts?category=web-development

Full-Text Search

Search functionality is implemented on posts.

Example:

GET /posts?search=nestjs+mongodb

Sorting

API responses can be sorted by different fields.

Example:

GET /posts?sortBy=createdAt&sortOrder=desc

Automatic Slug Generation

When creating posts, the system automatically generates a URL-friendly slug from the title using slugify.

Example:

Building REST APIs with NestJS
→ building-rest-apis-with-nestjs

Reading Time Calculation

The API automatically calculates estimated reading time based on the content length of posts.

Consistent API Response Format

All responses follow a standard structure:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {},
  "timestamp": "2026-01-01T10:00:00Z"
}

This improves frontend integration and debugging.

Technology Stack

The backend is built using a modern Node.js stack.

Project Structure

The project follows a modular architecture.

src/
├── auth/
├── users/
├── posts/
├── categories/
├── tags/
├── comments/
├── common/
└── seed/

Important components include:

• DTO validation

• Mongoose schemas

• Global exception filters

• Response interceptors

• JWT guards

• Role decorators

This structure keeps the codebase organized and scalable.

How to Install and Run the Project

Prerequisites

Before installing, make sure you have:

• Node.js 18.17+

• MongoDB 6+

• npm, yarn, or pnpm

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/bfotool/nestjs-mongodb-blog-base
cd nestjs-mongodb-blog-base

Install Dependencies

npm install

Configure Environment Variables

Copy the example environment file:

cp .env.example .env

Update the following values:

MONGODB_URI=
JWT_ACCESS_SECRET=
JWT_REFRESH_SECRET=

Seed the Database

Populate the database with sample data:

npm run seed

To reset and reseed:

npm run seed:refresh

Start the Development Server

npm run start:dev

API base URL:

http://localhost:3000/api/v1

Swagger documentation:

http://localhost:3000/api/docs

Default Seeded Data

The seed script generates sample data for testing.

Default Login Credentials

Password for all seeded users:

admin123

Accounts:

Swagger API Documentation

Interactive API documentation is available at:

http://localhost:3000/api/docs

Swagger provides:

• Interactive endpoint testing

• JWT authentication support

• Request and response schema documentation

Why Use This Repository

The NestJS MongoDB Blog API is a powerful starting point for developers building a modern blog backend.

Advantages include:

• Clean NestJS modular architecture

• Built-in authentication and RBAC

• Ready-to-use Swagger API documentation

• MongoDB integration using Mongoose

• Database seeding system

• Production-ready project structure

Repository: https://github.com/bfotool/nestjs-mongodb-blog-base