vinikuttyraja5345-design/CRM-mern-stack-Backend ? reverse-engineered prompt

Build me the backend for a simple CRM app.

I want a Node and JavaScript server that can handle the usual CRM stuff like users, leads, customers, and basic follow up records, with clean API routes, controllers, models, and middleware. Please wire up the server so it can connect to a database, handle requests safely, and return clear JSON responses that a frontend can use.

Make it easy to run locally, and set it up in a way that feels like a real backend project, with separate folders for routes, controllers, models, config, and middleware. If anything is unclear, use sensible defaults and look up current docs online if you need to.