I use Sming framework for my esp8266 based project. I think this one is most handy for quick and convinient development.

I split unit's tasks in classes with following high level responsibilities:

wifimanager - tries to connect to known network and notifies application if connection established or lost. when no connection avalable - it starts AP point so you can connect to it and configure.

webserver - starts and provides basic interface for listing wifi networks and connecting to one.

mopidy - basic httpclient used for communication with mopidy music server using jsonrpc. Additionaly to basic operations like play and stop, it loads user stored playlist from mopidy server and provides possibility to start track by number.

ir - provides mapping between remore buttons and mopidy actions

aso IR library included with all protocols disabed apart from those that i need. This improves remote responsiveness dramaticaly.

I use vscode for development and basic build tasks for vscode are included