You write clean code.
You use good naming conventions.
Your logic is solid.
But… your project still feels messy, unscalable, and hard to onboard others into?
👉 The culprit? Your folder structure.
Sounds boring? It’s not.
Think of it like your kitchen — you could have all the spices and tools, but if everything is dumped into one drawer, you’ll hate cooking in there.
It’s the same with your codebase.
Let’s break this down.
Why Folder Structure Is a Silent Power Move
- Scalability: Good structure makes your project grow without becoming chaotic.
- Onboarding: New devs can start contributing fast.
- Maintenance: Finding bugs and files becomes painless.
- Separation of concerns: You reduce dependency hell and cognitive overload.
- Team collaboration: Everyone follows the same system, minimizing merge conflicts and confusion.
Imagine This Scenario 👇
You're joining a new project. You open the repo, and this greets you:
/src
/components
/utils
/helpers
/pages
App.js
index.js
routes.js
config.js
Looks okay, right? But as the app grows, you get:
-
utils.js
,utils_v2.js
,utilsFinal.js
- Components used once but living in global
components/
- Repeated logic scattered across unrelated files
You spend more time finding code than writing it.
Let’s Talk Real-World Folder Patterns (With Examples)
1. Feature-Based Structure (Recommended for Scale)
/src
/features
/auth
AuthPage.jsx
authSlice.js
authAPI.js
/dashboard
Dashboard.jsx
dashboardSlice.js
/shared
/components
/hooks
/utils
👉 Group everything related to a feature in one place.
Great explanation:
Feature-Based Folder Structure - Kent C. Dodds
2. Domain-Driven Structure
Helpful for larger, backend-heavy apps.
/src
/domains
/user
UserService.js
UserController.js
UserRoutes.js
/product
ProductService.js
Pro Tips to Get It Right ✅
- 📁 Group by feature, not type (no more
components/
,styles/
,utils/
dumps) - 🧠 Think from the future — "What happens when I add 5 more modules?"
- 🔄 Be consistent — once you pick a pattern, stick to it
- 📦 Keep shared code in a separate
/shared
or/common
folder - 🧪 Tests should live next to the file they test (
Button.test.js
besideButton.js
) - 🔍 Name folders clearly (
auth
,dashboard
,products
, notmisc
orstuff
) - 🛠️ Use index files for clean imports:
// Instead of:
import AuthPage from '../../features/auth/AuthPage'
// Do this:
import { AuthPage } from '../../features/auth'
Bonus: Use a CLI Template Generator
Tools like Plop.js let you automate consistent folder and file creation.
Set it up once and avoid manual boilerplate forever:
plop.setGenerator('component', {
description: 'Create a new component',
prompts: [/* name, type, etc */],
actions: [/* generate folder + files */]
})
Super handy in teams and production setups.
Want to See Real Codebases?
Explore these open-source projects for folder structure inspiration:
Remember: Structure Is Invisible Until It Hurts
No one notices good folder structure — until it’s gone.
But when it’s bad?
- Everything breaks.
- Team slows down.
- Deadlines slip.
- New devs quit.
It's not "just folders."
It’s how you architect your brain into the app.
💬 How do you structure your projects?
Share your go-to patterns, folder horror stories, or even GitHub repo links in the comments!
👇
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