vohncagayan/mernappserver ? reverse-engineered prompt

Build me the backend for a small MERN app.

I want a Node server that connects to MongoDB, loads settings from a .env file, and provides a clean API for the frontend to use. Please set it up so it runs locally for development and can also be deployed easily, since I’m planning to use Vercel too.

Keep the structure simple and organized, with models for the database data and a main server file that starts everything up. If anything is missing or unclear, make sensible defaults and keep it easy to extend later. I mainly want a working server foundation that I can plug a React app into.

If you need to check current docs for anything deployment related, feel free to look them up online.