Flexport Local Dev Loop

Flexport Local Dev Loop

Overview

Set up a fast, reproducible local development workflow for Flexport integrations. Since Flexport has no official SDK, the dev loop centers on a typed HTTP client wrapper with mock responses for testing.

Prerequisites

• Fictional fixtures only, a local directory excluded from version control, and an approved sandbox/read-only test path.
• Separate developer credentials supplied through an approved secret manager, never copied into fixtures or shell history.

Output

Produce a local test receipt with fixture version, schema/contract result, opaque correlation IDs, and redacted failures. No real shipment, address, invoice, customs, or credential data belongs in the repository.

Error Handling

• Stop fixture generation if it contains real exports, documents, or identifiers; replace with synthetic values.
• Treat schema and authorization mismatches as review items rather than widening scope or retrying production actions.
• Revoke a test credential and report a redacted incident if exposure is possible.

Examples

Test a fictional container event with an opaque ID and invented ports. Run offline unit tests, confirm no network call is made, then validate a read-only sandbox probe separately. Ensure deleting the fixture removes every local derived artifact.

Instructions

Step 1: Project Structure

flexport-integration/
├── src/
│   ├── flexport/
│   │   ├── client.ts          # Typed Flexport API client
│   │   ├── types.ts           # API response types
│   │   └── mock-data.ts       # Test fixtures
│   └── index.ts
├── tests/
│   ├── flexport.test.ts       # Unit tests with mocks
│   └── integration.test.ts   # Live API tests (CI only)
├── .env.local                 # Local secrets (git-ignored)
├── .env.example
└── package.json

Step 2: Typed Client Wrapper

// src/flexport/types.ts
interface FlexportShipment {
  id: string;
  status: 'booked' | 'in_transit' | 'arrived' | 'delivered';
  freight_type: 'ocean' | 'air' | 'trucking';
  origin_port: { code: string; name: string };
  destination_port: { code: string; name: string };
  cargo_ready_date: string;
  estimated_arrival_date: string;
}

interface FlexportResponse<T> {
  data: { records: T[]; total_count: number };
}

// src/flexport/client.ts
export class FlexportClient {
  private base = 'https://api.flexport.com';
  private headers: Record<string, string>;

  constructor(apiKey: string) {
    this.headers = {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
      'Flexport-Version': '2',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    };
  }

  async listShipments(page = 1, per = 25): Promise<FlexportResponse<FlexportShipment>> {
    const res = await fetch(`${this.base}/shipments?page=${page}&per=${per}`, {
      headers: this.headers,
    });
    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Flexport ${res.status}: ${await res.text()}`);
    return res.json();
  }
}

Step 3: Mock Data for Testing

// src/flexport/mock-data.ts
export const mockShipment: FlexportShipment = {
  id: 'shp_test_001',
  status: 'in_transit',
  freight_type: 'ocean',
  origin_port: { code: 'CNSHA', name: 'Shanghai' },
  destination_port: { code: 'USLAX', name: 'Los Angeles' },
  cargo_ready_date: '2025-04-01',
  estimated_arrival_date: '2025-05-15',
};

export function mockFlexportFetch(path: string) {
  if (path.includes('/shipments')) {
    return { data: { records: [mockShipment], total_count: 1 } };
  }
  throw new Error(`No mock for ${path}`);
}

Step 4: Vitest Unit Tests

// tests/flexport.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
import { FlexportClient } from '../src/flexport/client';
import { mockShipment } from '../src/flexport/mock-data';

describe('FlexportClient', () => {
  beforeEach(() => {
    vi.stubGlobal('fetch', vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
      ok: true,
      json: () => Promise.resolve({ data: { records: [mockShipment], total_count: 1 } }),
    }));
  });

  it('lists shipments', async () => {
    const client = new FlexportClient('test-key');
    const result = await client.listShipments();
    expect(result.data.records).toHaveLength(1);
    expect(result.data.records[0].freight_type).toBe('ocean');
  });

  it('sends correct auth header', async () => {
    const client = new FlexportClient('test-key');
    await client.listShipments();
    expect(fetch).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
      expect.stringContaining('/shipments'),
      expect.objectContaining({ headers: expect.objectContaining({ 'Flexport-Version': '2' }) }),
    );
  });
});

Step 5: Dev Scripts

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "tsx watch src/index.ts",
    "test": "vitest",
    "test:watch": "vitest --watch",
    "test:integration": "FLEXPORT_LIVE=1 vitest tests/integration.test.ts"
  }
}

Resources

• Flexport Developer Portal
• Vitest Documentation

Next Steps

See flexport-sdk-patterns for production-ready code patterns.