vinayagamoorthy-code/trip-backend ? reverse-engineered prompt

Build me the backend API for my travel planner app. I want a clean server that can save and manage trip data, user data, and anything else a normal travel planning app would need, with simple JSON endpoints that my frontend can call.

Please organize it in a sensible way with controllers, routes, models, middleware, utility helpers, and a small scheduler area for any background or timed tasks. Make sure it starts from server.js, connects to a database, handles errors nicely, and includes basic validation so bad requests don’t break things. If auth makes sense for this kind of app, add a straightforward login and protected routes setup too.

Keep it practical and easy to extend later, not overcomplicated. Use the current best practices for a Node backend, and look up current docs online if you need to.